Batman The Mantle of the Dark Knight
by CGD
Summary: A non-cannon universe where Batman is unheard of and yet feared across Gotham. Heroes operate in the dark and while the villains come to light. Detective Ryan Connolly of the GCPD is suddenly thrown into the world and he must learn quickly to earn the mantle of the BATMAN (Non-Cannon and some minor facts may be wrong as I cannot always be up to date on the Bat over here in the UK)
1. MDK ISSUE 1

**ISSUE 1**

The day had been slow and the night had rapidly dawned on the large city that was Gotham. The rain slowly came down onto the streets as Detective Ryan Connolly clocked off and exited the Gotham Central Police Department Head Quarters. The door swung shut behind him and he turned the collar up on his long brown trench coat, his navy blue tie flapping in the wind.

It had been one of the longest days he had experienced on the force. It wasn't that he'd been doing nothing all day, it was that it was the same mundane thing. Someone stabbed someone else and they always left a trail of blood behind them, it was far too easy.

He strutted down the stairs and onto the streets. Rain washed over his sandy brown hair as he turned around and made his way down the pavement. When he had signed up to the Gotham PD he hadn't expected it would be this mundane, although at least he wasn't sitting in his office everyday being overly bored.

Gotham wasn't exactly a nice place. It wasn't as shiny and new as Metropolis but it wasn't completely scummy. Sadly crime was rife and people were killed every day. His job was to clean up the mess, put the scumbag behind bars until he's released through corruption of the Police and then finish off the useless paperwork which wasn't really necessary but yet still mandatory.

Detective Connolly walked down the street and into a darker street which was right by his apartment building. He moved swiftly as he saw a group of teenagers standing in a huddle in the shadows. He saw smoke and a few bottles lying about, they were clearly drunk or high on some narcotics, in another city he would have called in for back up and arrested them but this was Gotham, he would have to let them go in a few hours after he had actually arrested them.

The boys turned their heads and started sneering. Ryan said nothing. All he did was part his jacket to show his large standard Police firearm in his shoulder holster and shiny golden Police badge attached to his black leather belt.

Instantly the boys turned away and he smiled. They were just kids pretending to be their criminal fathers but unlike their fathers, the badge actually intimidated them. Ryan did up his jacket and just continued onwards towards his apartment block door.

He opened it, feeling the cold metal of the wet door handle, and walked towards the set of concrete stairs. He walked up them, his legs starting to feel like lead after spending half the day on his feet and the other half sitting at his desk writing up paper work.

That was another thing he didn't expect when he signed up all those years ago, all the written work he had to do. But work wasn't the only thing he enjoyed, he also enjoyed the conspiracy side of being part of the GCPD, particularly the conspiracy of the Bat.

He whipped out his keys and quickly undid his wooden front door. He breezed into his apartment, closed the door and made sure every single lock was in place. Ryan's apartment wasn't big or lavish like the Wayne Manor, the largest Estate in Gotham, but it was enough to live in.

He kicked off his leather 'office' shoes at the door and his long brown trench coat on the hooks hanging alongside the door. The carpet felt fuzzy under his black sock covered toes as he walked down the corridor and towards the kitchen.

It was 10pm, late enough for a drink, after all he deserved it. He walked into the dull white kitchen and produced a small bottle of whiskey and a glass. He then turned and walked towards the small wooden table which sat by the only window it the kitchen. He liked this place, not because it was an actual seat without work but because of the window's view.

As soon as he slid the security shutters away he could look out of the glass panes and out onto the city. Up ahead was Wayne Tower, right in the centre of Gotham City and around that were large towering skyscrapers. From his window he could see the centre of Gotham, with the bright lights and the overly wealthy customers.

He did feel jealous for those people but what he mainly felt was pride. In all this grime, filth, crime and murder; they had managed to create a small patch of greatness unto which the rich of the planet could dine, dance and live in.

He looked out onto this view, feeling a bit more optimistic as he slowly poured whiskey into the glass and downed it in one. With Lieutenant Gordon taking the reins on Major Crimes Unit, things were looking more positive and were definitely showing in the success they were having with local cases.

He poured another into the glass when he heard someone cry out in the streets below. Acting out of instinct, Ryan un holstered his gun from his shoulder holster and opened his kitchen window. He looked down into the alley below to see the group of boys from earlier getting closer to two innocent women, looking very threatening.

_Time for Action_, he grinned to himself. In one fluid movement, he vaulted the window and touched down on the metal fire escape. He was as silent as possible as he made his way towards the ladder which lead to the ground, just behind the group of teens.

His feet hit the concrete and he held his gun out as he stealthily made his way up to the boys who were sneering and trapping the two women. One of the boys did something Ryan couldn't see, the woman screamed and Ryan decided to act.

"GCPD hands in the air!" he shouted as loud as he could.

The group of boys turned to see the Detective, one man on his own, holding a gun. That's when he saw them produce their small silver revolvers that glinted in the dim overhead lights.

"Come on then shit head cop!" one of the boys dressed in an bandana shouted, Ryan guessed he was the leader.

"I'm a Detective actually and you're under arrest for possession of an illegal firearm and assault," Ryan barked back. "Now put your hands in the air."

"No way mate!" another kid shouted.

The kid raised his gun and Ryan dived behind a large bin. The boy fired a bullet which imbedded itself in the brick wall.

_That's it!_ he thought. In one fluid movement, Ryan cocked the gun and aimed it at the boy who fired at him. He shot him in the foot, the boy cried out and dropped to the floor. He then dove behind the bin and shouted again, "Anyone else want to fire at an officer of the law?"

Suddenly he heard the sound of shuffling and the sound of at least five hammers being pulled back; ready to knocked out a bullet at over 100 miles per hour.

_Shit!_ Ryan turned around to see that three boys were in a line ready to fire directly at him while two others held the women hostage. _I need back-up but there's no time_.

He swallowed his fear and resisted the adrenaline and spun around the bin. He fired two bullets at the boys before they opened fire. Two of the front boys fell down in pain, he'd shot them in non-lethal areas; at least his name was still good. The boys were bad shots, bullets had gone everywhere but one had made it's make.

A single bullet had hit him in the shoulder and imbedded itself there. He cried out and collapsed against the bin, the warm crimson blood gushed from the wound and poured down his clothes.

He was bleeding and still the two women were being held hostage. "Let the women go!" he shouted, straining due to the gaping wound in his shoulder. "We can sort this out between us."

That was when he heard the sound of shrieking and grunting. He slowly looked around the heavy metal object and saw the final boy collapse in pain and the women scream at the great big beast that had freed them.

Ryan's face lit up as he saw what he had wanted to see for years. **The Bat!**

The great beast stood right in front of; finally!

The great beast had a cowl covering his face with short pointy ears and connected to that was a long billowing cape that looked like a living shadow and under that was a large Egyptian type collar with a large black emblem on it. His body was toned, muscular, and covered in what looked like black body armour. But his eyes, they were truly terrifying, they were blank and shining white.

The monster grunted and flicked his wrist, retracting the massive claws on the sides of his arms. He turned to the women, who shrieked and ran off. Ryan's eyes were glued to the massive creature who stared right back at him.

That was when the world starting blurring out. He was losing a lot of blood and it was painful. The world slowly turned back, the last thing he saw was the Bat running towards him.


	2. MDK ISSUE 2

**ISSUE 2**

He woke up to hear the sound of the heart rate monitor beeping next to him. He slowly turned his head, feeling the pain in his shoulder, to see that he was indeed in a hospital bed and hooked up to tonnes of machinery.

He groaned as he tried to sit up in his bed. He saw that the window was wide open and the breeze was blowing at the curtains. His eyes saw that his suit shirt, tie, gun and holster, trousers were lying on a chair next to him.

The door swung open and a tall thin man dressed in a pale blue shirt walked in.

"Ah Mr Connolly you're awake," the man smiled, showing his dazzling white teeth.

"How long was out?" Ryan asked, feeling his mouth was parched.

"Not that long," he said, already pouring him a glass of water. He handed to him with a steady hand. "We found you out front of the hospital but the weirdest bit was that someone had already operated on you."

"What?"

"Mr Connolly, last night, you were shot in the shoulder," the man explained, checking his chart at the bottom of the bed. "The bullet was stuck in you but when we found you, the bullet had been removed and the wound had been cleaned and dressed."

"What?" Ryan asked again.

"You were brought here by someone who had already done our work for us," the man replied, trying to answer Ryan's constant questions. "It means your bill will be a lot less," he joked, putting the chart back. "And he was clearly an expert, he's done it so well that you can leave today."

"Well...thank you; I guess."

"Just doing, well partially, doing my job."

The Doctor turned and left the room, leaving Ryan behind on his own. He closed the door and Ryan let out a sigh.

"You did good," a dark, deep, brooding voice said from somewhere in the room.

Ryan slowly turned his head to the Bat crouching in his open window. "What the fuck!" he shouted as the Bat touched onto the ground and completely enveloped himself in, what Ryan thought, was a cape and stood perfectly still.

"How did you get in here?" Ryan asked. "Wait, I just saw you in the window but how? Why?"

"I came to check up on you," the Bat said, staring at him with his white piercing eyes. "You did good last night."

"Thanks," Ryan smiled. "What are you?"

"I've not come to answer questions," the Bat said. Suddenly smoke appeared and enveloped him. Ryan shielded his eyes and when the smog cleared the Bat was gone.

"What the hell?"

Ryan's shoulder was stiff as he exited the hospital, it was drizzling now and normally he would pull up his collar at this point but his shoulder ached too much.

He walked down the steps and out onto the streets. First things first he needed to get to work and speak to Gordon, he needed answers.

As he walked off in the direction of the station, a car pulled up beside him. He looked in to see Lieutenant Jim Gordon, his superior and long time mentor, sitting in the driver's seat. Gordon rolled down the window and said, "Get in." His thick sandy brown moustache moved as he spoke.

Ryan opened the door and jumped in next to Gordon. "I was coming to see you," Gordon said, putting the car into gear and driving off. "But it seems your all better."

"Jim we need to talk," Ryan said. "Last night I was saved by the Bat."

"What?"

"I know where you've been getting all this information from," Ryan sighed. "The whole of Major Crimes knows you've been working with the Bat, the one thing that the Commissioner hates more than being a criminal."

"How did you?"

"We just do Jim," Ryan sighed, buckling up his seatbelt. "And last night he saved me, he operated on my shoulder and put me up in hospital."

"That's not like him," Gordon sighed, contemplating silently. "Since you know you might as well come to the meeting we're having."

"What, with the Bat?"

"Yes, we're meeting on the rooftop of the Station in ten minutes."

Ryan grinned to himself. He was going to understand the bat, crack the puzzle of his identity, he had to; it was his mission.


	3. MDK ISSUE 3

**ISSUE 3**

Lieutenant Gordon and Detective Connolly stood on the roof of GCPD Station. Ryan shivered in his damp trench coat as Gordon checked his watch. The Bat was meant to be there now and according to Gordon; was never late.

"Gordon," the deep voice of the Bat came from behind them. "I wasn't aware you were brining Detective Connolly."

Gordon and Ryan turned around to see the Bat standing behind them enveloped in his long black cape, he looked like he was in a cocoon.

"Well I didn't see the problem since you'd already met him," Gordon replied calmly.

"Doesn't mean I trust him."

"And he's gonna get pissed if he keep calling him he," Ryan interjected.

"There's no point sending him away now," Gordon sighed. "Let's just continue. What's the lead you have on Little Jon?"

"His small gang of 'merry men' are importing drugs but they want to make a statement before their first shipment to make themselves known. And that statement is to kill Mr Wayne, current CEO and Chairman of Wayne Enterprises."

"What evidence do you have?"

"A recording on this," Batman said, reaching into what looked like a black belt and produced a small bat shaped USB. He tossed it to Gordon who caught it with ease. "It's then planning it at their base."

"Why did you just take them out?" Ryan asks.

"Because that would be against the law," the Bat growled. "I give the evidence and the criminals to you and then you arrest them."

"How do you think no one knows about him," Gordon told Ryan.

"You've been taking all the credit for his work," Ryan said, suddenly realising. "That's wrong Jim"

"That's the way it has to be," Gordon told him. "He could never operate on his own and the Commissioners not lending a hand any time soon."

"Okay," Ryan said, comprehending the situation. "So what are we going to do about Wayne then?"

"You're going to do nothing," the Bat told him. "I am going to watch over Wayne."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Gordon interjected. "I'm going to put an officer on watch."

"I've contacted Wayne and he doesn't want protection but has agreed for me to watch from afar."

"Well I refuse to place his life on you," Gordon argued. "I'm placing one officer on the scene, Detective Connolly."

"What?"

"I'm placing you to watch Mr Wayne," Gordon told him.

"But I don't want to watch over old man Wayne!"

"I'm sure he doesn't you want with you with him either," growled the Bat.

"Well it's an order."

"What about Tom?" Ryan asked, referring to his partner in Major Crimes, Tom Jones.

"I've put you on it," Gordon barked. "Now I'm going to call Mr Wayne, speak to him and I'll put you on Wayne Watch."


	4. MDK ISSUE 4

**ISSUE 4**

The meeting with the Bat wasn't as amazing as Ryan had imagined but what was worse was that he was now going to do something even less amazing; he was going to babysit Gotham's very own multi-billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, but he wasn't exactly in his prime nowadays. At age 57, Bruce Wayne had become even more reclusive and cold, appearing at none of his events and permanently residing in his castle, the biggest estate in Gotham, Wayne Manor.

Ryan drove in the GCPD car up the long winding path to the electronic gates of Wayne Manor. He rolled down the window and pressed the wet metallic buzzer, the rain still splashing onto the windshield.

"Mr Wayne, I'm Detective Ryan Connolly, Lieutenant Gordon had called ahead," he said into the intercom.

"I said I didn't want protection," an angry voice said from the intercom.

"Well it's not your choice sir," Ryan replied, not feeling like being pleasant. "Now please open the gates or I will have them opened."

Without a word there was a loud buzz and the gates slowly opened. Ryan pressed his foot on the pedal and sped through up the winding path which lead to the colossal building up ahead.

Ryan looked across the large mansion to see the large marble steps leading up the gigantic wooden doors and he could see the dip were the underground car park must have been. He rounded the large circular fountain and parked the car.

He got out and saw as the large gates shut in the distance and his eyes followed to see the large marble and electrically charged metal fence ran around the edges of the large patch of Wayne owned land. Ryan grabbed his coat off the passenger seat and pulled it on over his shirt and shoulder holster, his shoulder was still sore but healing well.

He locked the car and stuffed the keys away before turning towards the entrance of Wayne Manor. His leather shoes tapped on the marble steps as he made his way to large brass knocker on the door. It was something about the place, it's Gothic design or the low light, but it was so intimidating and terrifying.

He gripped the slippery knocker and tapped on the window one; twice; three times. He stepped back and pushed his hands deep into his pockets. He waited for a few minutes until he saw the oak door slowly open and an elderly man dressed in a suit sitting in a wheelchair stared at him.

"Hello Detective Connolly," the man said, his British accent very obvious.

"May I come in?" Ryan asked, sensing he was obviously not the man he was protecting tonight.

"Yes of course," the elderly man smiled. He grabbed his joystick and moved back his electronic chair and Ryan stepped inside and out of the rain.

The door closed behind him and Ryan sensed the warmth of the large house, you would think it was so large that it would be freezing but it was warm and pleasant.

"You're here to protect Master Wayne," the old man said.

"Yes I am," Ryan smiled. "Not being rude but who are you? Are you his father?"

"No, no, no, Detective," the man smiled. "I'm Alfred Pennyworth, once Mr Wayne's Guardian and family servant. I have worked for the Wayne family for years and if I can give you a tip; don't bring up his family."

"Okay I won't," Ryan replied, trying to be as charming as possible. "So where is the owner of the house?"

"He's in the main sitting room," Alfred said. "I'll show you to him now."

Alfred used his joystick to navigate his wheelchair across the marble entrance way and towards the large lounge filled with sofas, a large fire place and large paintings of people Ryan had never seen before. As he approached he saw Bruce Wayne sitting by the fire place, staring into the flames.

His hair was grey and his skin was slightly wrinkled but for his age he was in good shape. He wore a jumper and jeans, Mr Wayne wasn't known for his casual dressing.

"Master Wayne," Alfred said, making the wealthy playboy turn around. "Detective Connolly has arrived."

"Hello Mr Wayne," Ryan smiled. "I'm be your protection for the evening-"

"I know," Bruce said, turning back to the roaring fire.

"You must excuse Master Wayne, he doesn't really have a sense of humour," Alfred smiled apologetically. "Well I'll be taking my leave for the night if you don't need anything Master Wayne."

"No, you get some rest," Bruce instantly interjected. "You get some rest."

"Well goodnight then Master Wayne," Alfred said nodding. "Goodnight Detective Connolly."

"Goodnight Alfred," Ryan smiled. He watched as Alfred turned around in his chair and disappeared out of sight. "So how we gonna do this Mister Wayne?

"You're going to sit down and be quiet," Bruce snapped, still staring into the fire. "I don't want you here but Lieutenant Gordon is very persistent."

"Yeah he's good at that," Ryan smiled, slipping off his trench coat and sitting down on the sofa near the reclusive gentleman.

The two of them sat in complete silence. Ryan stared at the man, he was confusing and odd but yet still had a strange sort of charisma which made Ryan want to look at him.

What he thought was an hour or maybe more, Ryan realised that he needed to use the toilet. He stopped up and walked away, sure he could find the bathroom on his own. He exited the lounge, leaving his jacket behind on the sofa.

Ryan walked across the marble, his shoes tapping loudly as he walked. The mansion was huge, so where was the bathroom? He turned round the corner to see a large grandfather clock.

He saw something flutter and did a double take on the time piece. Slowly he walked towards and saw a bat fluttering around inside glass casing.

_What the hell?_ Ryan reached for the case and began to pull on it. "Hold on, I'll get you out," he muttered. He yanked as hard as he could on the case and suddenly the whole clock swung to the side like a door, leaving a gaping dark hole in the wall.

_What the hell!_ he thought as the lights inside came on and Ryan saw the hole was actually an elevator. Gingerly he stepped inside and looked about. Suddenly the clock sealed him in and the floor began to move. _What the fuck have I done?_

He began to feel himself drop slowly until the ground stopped moving and the tube shaped elevator opened up and a whole area of darkness opened up before him. He strained his eyes as bright lights started snapping into life.

That's when he saw where he was, he was in a massive underground cave system. Surrounding him were slippery rocks, waterfalls and strange lights above which were impossibly bright. His eyes moved across the space and he saw that he was standing on a metal platform.

His eyes moved across to see the place was a spectacle, greater than Wayne Manor above. In the distance he could see a black monstrosity which looked like a tank and next to that was a small thing that looked like a teched out black motorbike, across from that was a massive computer system with a gigantic screen which was slowly whirring into life, next to that was a large table filled with what looked like gadgets, technology, spare parts and chemicals, near that was a set of glass cases filled with strange costumes but one mainly caught his eye.

Without thinking Ryan walked towards the glass cases and stared at the largest costume on the set of glass encased mannequins. It was the skin of the Bat, the man-creature that he had just met on the roof of the Station. How was this possible?

That's when the pieces began to fit together in his head. _Bruce Wayne the multi-billionaire was the Bat! _And across from the Bat costume were others, a smaller golden version of the Bat costume, a bright red, yellow and green costume which was a great contrast from the other two and the costume next to that was a black costume with a blue symbol and a black domino mask.

"What is this?" Ryan muttered.

Suddenly he felt his gun move from the holster and clatter to the ground. He turned round to see Bruce Wayne reel back his large first and punch him in the nose.

There was a loud crack and Ryan stumbled back onto the glass cases, clutching his nose which was gushing with blood.

"How dare you come down here!" Bruce growled, instantly adopting the voice of the Bat.

Before he could get up or apologise, Bruce brutally kicked him in the ribs. Ryan felt the wind escape his lungs and he gasp for breath as Bruce stood back and stared at him.

"Protection," he snorted. "You can't even protect yourself!"

"I'm-I'm sorry."

"You should be!" Bruce shouted.

"I didn't mean to, I swear!"

"Just get upstairs," Bruce sighed, calming down.

Ryan climbed to his feet and stared at him, his legs still wobbly. "Now I know why you didn't want protection."

"What?"

"Because you're him," Ryan smiled through the bleeding nose. "You're the Bat and Bruce Wayne, the target and the protection."

"Just get moving before I beat you again."

"But who's costume's are they?"

Bruce stayed silent.

"Bruce, who's costumes are they," Ryan repeated, using his shirt sleeve to clean the blood seeping from his nose.

"My partners," he sighed.

"What?"

"I've been the Bat for a long time and along the way I've had...partners."

"And where are they now?"

"They quit," he sighed. "Or they're dead."

"But why?"

"Because they're not fit for the life."

"So what about you then?" Ryan asked. "Because I've seen you in action and your still at it at 56 years old."

"This is my life," he smiled. "Wait what am I doing? Get out!"

"Wait, let me help you!"

"What?" he uttered. "No."

"Just hear me out," Ryan pleaded. "I've been with the GCPD for years and even I can see it corrupt. I joined the force to make a difference and so far I've done nothing. The only thing that can make a difference is...you. The Bat, the terrifying suit, that truly scares them; not this badge I carry around on my belt."

"I would have said yes once, but now it's a no."

"Please."

"No."

"Then I'll tell everyone that your the Bat," Ryan retorted. "I'll tell the Commissioner and he'll arrest you quicker than anything."

"You wouldn't dare!" Bruce snarled, once again slipping into his 'Bat' voice, stepping closer to him.

"I will," Ryan retorted, stepping closer to Bruce. They roughly the same height and build apart from Bruce had more built muscle, so when they squared off things looked bad. "Just train me to be your partner and you won't regret it."

Bruce glared at him with a fire in his eyes and then his expression softened. "Fine."

"Really?"

"Yes and your first mission begins now."

"What's that?"

"Pretend to be me in the lounge while I take out the assassin who will be here in under thirty minutes."


	5. MDK ISSUE 5

**ISSUE 5**

Ryan was terrified. He sat on the sofa in Bruce Wayne's lounge, wearing an expensive grey wig and Bruce's clothing. It felt strange as he stared into the fire, it was like he had already become Bruce Wayne.

30 minutes ago he had broken into Bruce's secret caves were he stored everything Batman related and pieced together Bruce's night life. And then he had blackmailed Bruce into training him to become a creature of the night like himself.

But instead of teaching him how to scare the shit out of common crooks with a simple gaze, he had been put on the path of being bait for hired assassins. So while he could be shot or killed at any moment, Bruce was out there masquerading in the shadows.

He did have body armour under the clothes but if he was shot in the head, there was no going back and the worst bit was he had to sit perfectly still, maybe watch the TV, and show no fear what so ever as Bruce didn't know of the danger on his life; but Ryan Connolly did.

He tried to push the fear out by thinking of the fact that he was going to be trained by the Bat! The mysterious vigilante detective who had practically solved every case Major Crimes had come up against, although Gordon always took the credit.

One day maybe he could be the old man commanding some young police detective to dress up as him and wait to be 'killed' while he was out their running around in a cowl and having all the fun.

He stared into the licking flames in the fire place which were blazing away. That's when he pondered, did Alfred know about the Bat. Since he'd had partners surely Alfred would have seen them, surely Alfred would have been involved somehow.

It made him smile, that crippled old man who sat in an electronic wheelchair, the idea that the man who he'd seen who looked so frail and old would be running about in armour plating, smacking up bad guys with great fury.

That's when he heard a noise. A bullet bounced off the glass window behind him and he instantly ducked down under the couch. He couldn't let them see his face but he couldn't just sit there as if no one was trying to kill him.

That's when he heard at least ten bullets flying straight at the window. Even though the glass was sound proof, Ryan could still hear the assassins outside getting beaten up by Bruce in the Bat costume.

_Is that all of them done?_ He thought to himself. He slowly got up to see the Bat standing behind him. But since he knew his true identity, he didn't seem as threatening.

Ryan expected something like a compliment but as he stood up he got, "Ryan get down!"

The Bat/Bruce's voice echoed through the lounge. Ryan ducked and spun around to see a large burly man dressed in black wearing a metal mask with holes for eyes standing right behind him. In his hand was a large fencing sword and in the other was a large heavy ball on a chain.

The metal masked man swung the chain and the heavy looking ball flew towards Ryan. Ryan dove to the side and the ball smacked into the couch, knocking back and tipping it over. In a second the Bat jumped over the fallen couch and produced a strange, sharp, metal object and threw it.

The sharp black object hit the man and got lodged in his shoulder. The bat made his way towards him as he reached onto his shoulder and yanked out the painful object. The metal masked man dropped the ball and swung the fencing sword at the Bat.

Bruce ducked under the attack and flicked out his wrists, the claw like blades extended from his forearm gauntlets and he then advanced. The two were like graceful dancers, each attacking and blocking at the same time, they worked in perfect coordination. Even though Ryan feared for his life he couldn't help but watch.

The Bat ducked under the sword and swiped across the man's chest, scratching open his black top and leaving a massive cut across his shirt. The masked man brought down the suit and the Bat caught it in his thick gloved hand and brought it to the ground.

He pulled the man off balance and kneed him in the chest. The man grunted, the Bat brought down his hand like hammers and smacked him on the back and pushed him to the ground. As he laid on the floor, the Bat kicked him constantly in the stomach with crippling strength.

Bruce reached into his belt and produced a small device with a clip on the end. He clipped it onto the masked man and moved it around him, rope came out the end and enveloped him. Once he was tied up, Bruce pressed a button; cut the line and sealed the rope into one piece. The assassin wasn't going anywhere.

"What's that?" Ryan asked, realising that he wasn't going to encounter a lot of strange gadgets while he was with Bruce.

"New rope technology developed at Wayne Tech," the Bat said, still speaking like the masked vigilante. He clicked the rope emitter into his utility belt. "Now we'd better get this guy and the rest of them to the Police."

The Bat and Ryan walked towards the bulky man and lifted him off the ground with a grunt of effort each. They slowly walked him out of Wayne manor and dropped him on the steps of the large mansion.

The Bat reached to his cowl and pressed his ear. Ryan watched as he moved his hands about and the stood perfectly still. "Hand motion control technology for the computer inside my cowl." He then stood back. "I've called Gordon in. Now I need back my clothes."


	6. MDK ISSUE 6

**ISSUE 6**

Red and blue lights flashed against the marble walls of Wayne Manor. The Police had swiftly moved in and the Bat had moved underground to his caves to then be put back in its sealed glass case.

Ryan rolled back his shoulder and adjusted the shoulder holster under his trench coat. He leaned against the far wall as Bruce Wayne, who was now wearing a sharp black suit, was talking to Lieutenant Gordon about the events. He'd watched them talk and had saw Bruce point at him a few times; he could already tell what Gordon was going to say before he said it.

"Well it's been quite the night for you hasn't it Ryan," Gordon said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, it was certainly...interesting."

"Wayne told me the whole story," Gordon replied. "How the Sports Master appeared in the house and tried to kill Wayne. You and the Bat teamed up to stop him, the Bat then left you with rope and you tied them all up."

Ryan stared at the ground, he felt guilty taking the credit but he knew it had to be this way. If the Commissioner found out the Bat had stopped the assassin _and_ that Bruce was the Bat; then the whole of Gotham would be flipped upside down.

"Yeah, it was a difficult night," Ryan lied with a smile.

"Well I think the Commissioner will want to talk to you tomorrow but for now stay here and watch Wayne and we'll have someone take over your shift in a few hours."

"Okay," Ryan replied. Gordon walked off and Ryan made his way over to Wayne who had sat down on the couch. He sat down next to him. "I'm here for a few more hours and we need to talk."

"About what?" Wayne asked, watching as the final Police Officers left his house.

"For example who was that guy in the mask, Gordon called him the Sports Master, what the hell is that about?"

"The Bat isn't the only costumed vigilante around," Wayne explained rising from the couch. "All those myths that you've heard about heroes are real, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aqua Man they all genuine heroes. And there are also costumed villains and costumed assassins. Sports Master, AKA Lawrence Crock, is one of them. He uses sports equipment as weapons and he was sent to kill me."

"So you're saying that there are actual heroes out there," Ryan said, comprehending Bruce's words. "And with every hero comes a Villain."

"Exactly," Bruce replied, making his way to the alarm clock. He reached around the back and pressed a slight indent in the wood. The button clicked and the clock swung wide open and the dark space behind became illuminated. The two of them stepped in.

"Who's yours," Ryan asked as the clock closed and the floor began to move downwards.

"I don't want to say as you'll hopefully never meet him," Bruce replied as the doors opened up and the two stepped out onto the metal platform.

They walked from the elevator to the large computer system.

"So what are we doing first?" Ryan enquired. "Combat Training, Gadget Training or Detective Skills."

"IT Test," Bruce replied, walking towards the large computer. "After all we'll be spending a lot of time working here."

Ryan felt absolutely knackered as he handed over the keys to the cop car to the receptionist at the front desk. He'd spent hours at that computer, learning things that he didn't even know were possible, and then he swapped over with another officer who he didn't really know and returned the car back to the Station.

The rain had stopped as Ryan exited the Police station and walked down the streets. For the first time in ages he was looking forwards to his bed and the rest of the day off work. If he didn't have to switch shifts with the other office; he was sure that Bruce would have made him stay for more training.

He figured that he would return home feeling like this a lot, knackered and feeling like he wanted to pass out. He turned down towards the alley which lead to his apartment block. _Maybe I can get Wayne to get a better flat_, he contemplated as he made his way down the alley.

Suddenly a blur jumped out of in front of him and swung for his head. Out of instinct Ryan ducked but couldn't avoid the knee that was rising towards his face. The impact of the force knocked him back but before he could fall a pair of hand grabbed him and lifted him into the air. Suddenly he was moving through the air and he smacked into the nearest wall.

He groaned as he slowly sat up to see a red and black clad figure standing over him.

"Bruce said you were good," the man sighed.

The man wore a black cowl, like Bruce's but without the ears, he had the same white eyes and black cape but he had two golden belts going across him in an 'X' formation. His top half was crimson and his bottom half was black. He looked like a mish mash of two costumes he had seen in the glasses cases in Bruce's cave.

"I guess he lied," the costume clad man smirked.

"Listen, I'm really tired and all I want to do is sleep," Ryan replied wearily.

"He said you'd probably say that," the man smiled. "But he told me to keep pushing you."

The crimson attacker raised his black boot and Ryan rolled out of the way before his head was stamped in. Ryan got to his feet just as the attacker spun around and produced a long steel staff.

"Seriously man?" Ryan asked as the cowl covered man spun the pole of metal.

The unknown attacker brought down the staff, Ryan side stepped it and swung lazily at the attacker's face. Luckily the strike hit and the attacker stumbled back.

"That's more like it," grinned the crimson man, blood coming from his nose and down his cheek.

He came right back and swung the staff left and right, smacking Ryan in the ribs multiple times, with every strike Ryan felt more and more of his limited energy depleting. At the last minute he blocked the staff with his forearm and gripped the metal weapon, which was highly unlikely to happen since you couldn't aim well once your adrenaline rush began. He yanked on the man's staff, pulling him off balance and then he summoned all the energy he had in him and clocked the attacker in the face.

The punch was powerful and the attacker instantly let go of the staff and tumbled backwards to the ground. Ryan swung the staff and then leant on it as his legs felt weak.

"Listen, I'm done here," Ryan snarled. "Please leave me alone."

The man rose to his feet. "Nicely played man," he held out a black gloved hand. "I'm Red Robin or better known as Tim Drake."

Ryan reached out and shook the hand, realising who the owner was. He was one of the many kids Bruce had adopted over the years, maybe Dick Grayson and Jason Todd had all been his partners too.

"Ryan Connolly," he said as they shook hands and then parted. "I'm guessing Bruce set me up."

"Yeah, I owed him a favour and he cashed it in."

"Well tell him to never do that again or next time my attacker will have a bullet in their head."

"That's a starting point," Red Robin/Tim Drake smiled through his black cowl. "He said you were armed and I had to be careful. He also wanted to know if you would use the weapon in the fight. Guns are his one rule."

"One rule?"

"He doesn't resort to guns of any kind," Tim explained. "I think you may have just passed two of his tests."

"Well that's just great," Ryan smiled. "Can I go to bed now?"

"After you give me my staff," Tim joked, holding out a hand.

Ryan tossed him the light shaft of metal, "I'm sure I'll see you around Tim."

"Hey it's Red Robin to you," he joked, dismantling the staff and produced a grapple hook. "See you around Ryan."

Ryan watched as Red Robin shot his grapple hook and rose off the ground and into the sky. _One day I'm gonna do that_, he smiled to himself as he turned and walked off towards his apartment building, not having to encounter a group of teenager this time.


	7. MDK ISSUE 7

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hey guys, I haven't done one of these before but here we go. I'd just like to say that for the people who have read my work, thanks, but also if you could write a review no matter how short would be great. I have created this whole new character and universe based off of DC and it could go in any direction so if anyone wants to see something appear in the story then if you post it in a PM or a Review then I could it put it in for you guys. But anyway, this is Issue 7 and there is SOmuch more to come, so stay tuned!

* * *

**ISSUE 7**

It had been a few days since his encounter with the Bat and Red Robin and since then work had seemed even more dull. He felt like a kid wanting to get out of school to play video games, he wanted to get out of work to go and train with Bruce Wayne or lesser known as The Bat; silent avenger of Gotham.

He was buzzing with raw adrenaline as made his way up the woodland path on foot. Since he'd started coming up to Bruce's house every day after work, he couldn't hire out the car from the GCPD, so he'd starting jogging up to the house which helped him with his level of physical fitness and he'd slowly noticed that he made in shorter and shorter time.

He reached the door and used the large knocker. After a few seconds, Alfred whizzed in his wheel chair and opened the front door. They had the usual conversation and then he made his way to the grandfather clock entrance to the cave.

He pressed the button, entered the elevator and slowly made his way down to the cavern system below.

The doors snapped open and Ryan stepped onto the platform and watched as the elevator rose back up to the house above. He could spy Bruce in the distance, dressed in the black body armour of the Bat, practicing his combat skills in the dojo area.

"Hey Bruce!" he shouted as he made his way towards his mentor.

Ryan watched as Bruce performed a jumping kick followed by a back flip and a spider like landing. Even at 56 years old, Bruce was physically able as a 20 year old and an impressive sight to see. His combat skill and prowess was unparalleled by any human on the planet.

Bruce stood up and composed himself. It was odd seeing the mix of Bat and Bruce, the body suit without the cape and cowl, it was like two worlds were colliding right in front of him.

"Good evening Ryan," Bruce replied, walking towards him. "Are you ready for some combat training tonight?"

"Yeah sure," Ryan replied, undoing his tie and slipping it into his trench coat jacket pocket. "But I was going to ask when can I get a costume to train in?"

"Tonight," Bruce replied.

"Really?" Ryan asked, almost not believing the response.

"Follow," Bruce said walking off towards the set of large glass cases filled with assortment of costumes.

Bruce stopped at a case which made Ryan almost smirk. The costume dressed on the mannequin was the most ridiculous outfit there. The costume was red with green sleeves and trousers, a bright green cape and boots, finished with a green domino mask.

"This one? Really?" Ryan asked, smirking.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Have you not noticed that it's a bit bright?" Ryan asked the cold man who looked completely serious. "I'd be a living target!"

"So what else do you suppose you wear?" Bruce enquired.

Ryan looked up along the glass cases and his eyes rested on the only costume he could see himself wearing, apart from possibly the Bat costume.

"This one," Ryan grinned, gesticulating towards the black body armour costume like the bats but instead of the cowl it was a restyled black domino mask and the Bat symbol was replaced with a large blue bird.

"If you wish," Bruce sighed, turning away from the costumes. "But once you put on that costume you also wear responsibility. Like I took the mantle of the Bat, you have now taken on the Mantle of Nightwing, the name of the previous hero who wore it."

"Nightwing," Ryan murmured as Bruce walked off back to the combat area. Slowly Ryan reached out towards the glass door standing between him and the mantle he was going to take on.

Ryan exited the changing booth dressed in the black and blue costume. It was a perfect fit and the tight suit felt strange with the armour plating stuck on the top but as he walked the feeling felt more and more natural. He pushed the mask into the belt and walked towards the combat area of the cave.

Ryan felt odd in the costume, he could tell it hadn't been worn in a while, but it still felt like he was walking in someone else's shoes. But then he guessed that was the whole point of a mantle, to be passed down from one person to another to continue another fictional one's life, after all the Bat and Nightwing were all fictional characters used to mask the true identities of the vigilantes hidden beneath the surface.

Bruce turned to see Ryan walking over dressed in the Nightwing outfit.

"You look just like him," Bruce said, almost smiling.

"Look like who?" Ryan asked, flexing his hands in the armoured gloves, noting that there were dark blue gauntlets on his forearms.

"Don't worry," Bruce sighed. "Now let's get to combat training."

The two of them made their way to the centre of the padded floored area, weapons ran along the racks along the side as well as gadgets and trinkets running along the table. Ryan tried to imagine how many people before him had trained on these mats, pushing their bodies and their minds to the limits as they clashed with the Titan that was Bruce Wayne.

"If you reach into the compartments in the gauntlets, there are two blue sticks among other items," Bruce instructed. "Take them out and flick them like you would a truncheon."

Ryan felt around and found a button along the top of the right gauntlet, he pressed it and suddenly a navy blue stick popped out of the top and landed in each hand. He supposed it was an item per button, he'd have to ask about that some other time. He flicked the stick out and held the two light sticks in his hands.

"The sticks function as batons and taser sticks," Bruce explained. "But if you connect the bottom and twist it becomes a bo staff with the functions of the batons."

Ryan did as he was instructed, turning the batons into a staff. He swung it about, trying to mimic the movements of Tim Drake/Red Robin when they had that arranged clash in the alley.

"Now you have the basic gadgets of the Nightwing outfit down, as well as the grapple hook and other gadgets we covered last time," Bruce smiled. "I want you to use them to fight me."

"What?" Ryan asked, smirking, as he disconnected the batons and slid them back into the holes of the dark navy gauntlets.

"I want you to fight me," Bruce said walking towards the table and collected his Egyptian type chest collar attached to the helmet type cowl and cape. He slipped it on over his head and waited for it to lock with the suit's armour plating. It hissed, locked on and Bruce was finally transformed into the Bat.

"Okay," Ryan said shakily, producing the mask and pressing it onto his face. He waited for it to lock in and guessed that it functioned like the cowl, with lenses that would slide over and operate like a computer system with hand movement controls. He tapped his temple and the white lenses slid over, adjusted and then locked in with the computer system.

He was ready and that's when he saw the puff of smoke and the Bat was gone.

Instantly Nightwing knew he had to move, he couldn't stand in the open because that was the Bat was best at, hiding in the shadows and pushing his opponents into the light where he could take them down with ease.

His hand moved and the computer set up the grapple hook program. The grapple flew from the wrist mounted device and gripped the rocky surface above. The engines inside yanked him into the air. He smacked into the rocky ceiling and tried not grunt and give away his position.

He switched the function of the lenses with his hands to _night vision_. His eyes scanned the ground below, feeling the strain slightly in his arm. He swore he saw a flash of movement on the ground below, he knew it was Bruce but he'd had years of experience over him and it would impossible to track him down with just that.

Nightwing looked at the ground and aimed his other arm and the wall below him. He fired the silent grapple hook and lets his monkey like swinging into action. He regretted the fact he'd trained with more of the other gadgets than his grapple hook as he unhooked the first grapple and gracefully fell.

He smacked into the rock wall and thanked the armour plating was in place to protect him. Trying to waste minimal time as possible, he bent his legs and unhooked the grapple. He gracefully fell towards the ground, in hindsight he could have used the wings in the suit but he hit the ground and safety rolled along the slippery rocky surface that was at the very bottom of cave.

He slowly stood up and looked around the bottom, expecting to see the Bat. It was empty apart from the trickle of water of the waterfalls and small pools that had collected over the years.

That's just when he looked up to see the Bat ascending from above. Nightwing dove to the side as the Bat touched down and swung a large fisted punch directly at his face.

Nightwing had sparred before with Bruce and knew his speed and movements but he was a tactical genius and could out think him in seconds. He could probably stay level with him for a few minutes but he would eventually be taken out by the warrior, his best bet was to flee and try and keep avoiding him until he could get Bruce when he's not expecting it; thought that chance was very slim.

The Bat extended his gauntlet claws and began to swing powerful blows which were followed by large scratches from the sharp blades. Nightwing kept dodging the attacks, side stepping and jumping back, though if it kept going that way the Bat would have him down in minutes.

Nightwing made a subtle hand movement and the two batons ejected from the gauntlets and into his gloved hands. He extended them and raised them, blocking a powerful attack from Bruce.

He hadn't done a lot of gymnastics so far but he managed to pull off a back flip and follow it with a smack of the batons. The blow managed to knock the Bat back but he was better than that, he just kept advancing.

Nightwing connected the sticks and created his staff. He spun it in his hands and electronically charged it. He brought it down but the Bat side stepped. The black creature of the night placed a heavy boot on the stick and then kicked Nightwing in the face.

He dropped the staff to the floor, thanking god he had turned off the taser setting when it hit the floor or he'd be like burnt toast, and hit the floor with blood dripping from his nose. He could understand why the thugs just stayed down after fighting him, who'd want to go two rounds with the Bat.

But he wasn't giving up that easily, Nightwing rolled back and jumped to his feet. He set the gauntlets to grapple hook and fired it at the platform above. He sailed into the air, he suppressed the pain in his nose as he could sense the Bat was right behind him.

It was a terrifying thing running from the Bat even when he knew that he was really just a 56 year old man, but it kept Nightwing rushing with energy and on his toes. This was true excitement, it was electric and he'd felt nothing like it before.

He unhooked the grapple and swung over the edge onto the platform. He sprinted off, hearing the Bat climb onto the platform where he was just ten seconds ago. He kept moving, looking for a target to lock the grapple hook onto.

He noticed a shady walkway up ahead, he locked on the grapple and was once again in the air. He flew towards the surface but used his boot to stop himself from hitting against the dense surface. Trying to be as quick as possible, he shot out another grapple and used the tension to run along the walls of the cave, nearly slipping on the waterfalls. He then hooked the first grapple and used it to fall downwards, straight towards the platform; towards the dojo area.

He unhooked, front flipped and rolled along the mat. He needed a weapon since he'd lost his staff down the bottom of the cavern system. He sprinted to the rack of gadgets and plucked a long sheathed katana. He spun around to see a sharp metal bat shaped object flying towards him.

Nightwing moved to the side and the blade narrowly missed him, scratching the edge of the shoulder plate. He pulled the sheath off the sword and held it in both hands; feeling the weight and power of the weapon.

He bent his knees and waited for the attack from the Bat which didn't seem to be coming. He heard a noise, snapped his head to the side and noticed that one of the katanas had been taken from the rack.

Someone was moving behind him. He spun around and raised the sword to block a metallic blade flying towards his head. The metal clashed and sparks flew.

Nightwing pushed against him but the Bat had the upper hand since he was pushing down where he was resisting the force of gravity. Nightwing dropped the suit and ducked under the blade coming down towards him.

The Bat wasn't expecting what came next, Nightwing tackled him and pushed him to the ground. The Bat's cowl protected his head as Nightwing straddled him and then slugged him in the, only unprotected part of his face, jaw.

The Bat grunted as Nightwing reeled back another. Continually Nightwing kept slugging him, panting with effort. He stopped after the tenth attack and let his arms slump.

"We done?" Nightwing asked, panting.

The Bat didn't answer, he just stared at Nightwing's chest. Nightwing slowly looked down to see a bat shaped explosive was stuck to his chest.

"Oh fuc-" he muttered as the bomb went off. The force of the explosion knocked him back and pushed him onto his back.

The Bat rose to his feet and suddenly the white lenses slide away and Nightwing could see Bruce's real, human, eyes.

"We are now," Bruce replied with a grunt, clearly still slightly pissed off that he had just spent the past minute punching him in the face.

Nightwing's chest ached as he laid on the dojo mat, gasping for breath. The fight proved something to him. It proved that he needed more training _and_ that it would be a _long_ time before he could ever get close to beating Bruce at anything.

Right now he was going to need to be the best Nightwing he could be before ever getting close to wearing the cape and cowl of the Bat.


	8. MDK ISSUE 8

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

So guys this is Issue 8 and for any of you wondering, I do write a few Issues after the other and then post them one after the other. So far we have seen Ryan fight Bruce Wayne, and nearly win, and him work as a Police Officer for GCPD and let me tell you, the best is yet to come.

**ISSUE 8:**

After that fight, training had been hard and brutal. Bruce was clearly aware that Ryan had some latent potential so he decided to push him past any boundaries humanly possible. Ryan realised that day by day he getting closer to being 'vigilante' material, his what seemed stupid idea to one day become the Bat seemed to be coming more and more of a reality.

Sweat dripped down his body as Ryan finished his run on the treadmill while throwing the bat-shaped ninja stars which he thought could be called batarangs, he decided he was going to create names for most of the stuff down here; instead of just calling it sharp object or cave.

Ryan grabbed the small white towel he'd left on the side and wiped the beads of sweat off his face and chest. He'd just done at least a ten mile run, though he hadn't counted, and this was the best he'd felt after a run in a long time.

He turned away from the fitness equipment and slowly made his way towards the large computer which he'd personally dubbed 'the Bat Computer' seeing as it's only real use was to the Bat.

Bruce sat, dress in a turtle neck jumper, blazer and suit trousers, at the Bat Computer with a strained look in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked, hanging the towel around his neck.

"Make a deduction," Bruce replied.

"You're following up the leads on the Merry men," Ryan said tentatively.

"Good," Bruce replied, moving the cursor across the screen to bring up a map with a large red dot in the centre. "Tonight we'll be hitting their main warehouse with full force."

"Cool," Ryan smiled, wishing that he now had put his shirt back on. "So when are we hitting them?"

"In two hours so be ready," Bruce replied, closing down the map. "All the data will be on the inbuilt computer which resides in your suit. And make sure your shoulder won't be a problem."

"It's healed up nicely," Ryan replied, looking at the small scar on his shoulder. "That was some nice surgery by the way. You'll have to teach me that."

"You know basic first aid," Bruce replied. "And for now you have me on the scene, you're my back up so I'll teach you it when we get closer to the time when I am no longer required."

"For a great thinker and strategist you're not very smart are you?" Ryan smirked. "Bruce you're just a man and you can't be everywhere at once, I think you should teach me how to perform surgery."

"That's the point," Bruce replied. "I'm not just a man, a man can be killed, I am a symbol which strikes fear into the scum of Gotham. And a symbol is what drives me and defines me and if I can't be everywhere at once, then I don't deserve to where the costume."

Ryan could sense how tense Bruce was about this so he just left the subject. "Okay, I'll go through the files now."

"One last thing," Bruce interjected, spinning the expensive chair round. "Bring a spare bag to leave in a bin nearby with your suit, Detective Connolly will need to appear, if not things could look suspicious."

"Sure thing," Ryan said, making a mental note. He turned and walked off towards the glass cases.

Detective Tom Jones sat at his desk, closing the final paper folder on his desk with a smile. He'd finally finished the paper work, alone he wanted to add. He put the folder on the pile and leaned back in his chair, clicking his neck which didn't sound healthy.

"Tom?" a voice said behind him.

Tom spun around to see Lieutenant Jim Gordon staring at him. "Yes sir."

"Where's Ryan?" he asked, his iconic moustache moving on his upper lip.

"He left sir, about two hours ago," Tom replied. "He's done it for the past couple of months, as soon as his shift is over; he'd clock off and go running for some reason."

"Oh, okay," Gordon sighed. "I have a meeting which I'd like him to attend with me but if he's not here that's fine."

"What's the meeting sir?"

"Nothing important," Gordon replied with a sigh. "Just a talk with a source I have, we have some exchange of information scheduled for tonight."

"Can I come?" Tom asked quickly. "I'm just as good as Ryan."

"It's not really something I could inform you about now," Gordon replied. "It's a kind of sensitive subject."

"Oh, okay," Tom sighed, spinning back round to the computer on his desk.

"Maybe another time," Gordon told him, feeling a bit guilty as Tom looked disappointed.

"Whatever," Tom grunted with clear resentment of being passed over.

Gordon turned around, his gun glinting in the light as he made his way back to his office. He flung open the door, grabbed his iconic brown trench coat and slid it on over his white shirt and black tie. He closed the door with a bang and made his way to the roof of the Station. This meeting wasn't just a meeting, he was meeting The Bat.

Luckily it wasn't raining as he stood on the roof waiting for the vigilante who would be arrested on sight of the Commissioner. Reflecting on it, meeting on the Station was a risk but according to the Bat it was the safest place and Gordon decided to let the Bat's wisdom guide him.

Sometimes he did wonder why he put so much trust in the strange hybrid of man and monster. He was an outlaw to the GCPD but he seemed to keep them from looking like fools who couldn't stop a man from dropping litter on the street. He was their guiding light, he may have hidden his identity from them, if he was human, but he was their biggest weapon they had against the scum that filled their city.

"Gordon," the deep dark voice of the Bat said behind him.

Gordon spun around, where ever he stood the Bat always seemed to come from behind him.

"What have you got for me?" Gordon asked.

"I'm hitting a warehouse tonight," the Bat said gruffly. "I'll send you the coordinates when I'm finished."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Tonight I'll have a new partner," the Bat replied.

"What?" Gordon said, clearly shocked.

"I have a partner and tonight he'll be hitting the warehouse with me."

"Okay," Gordon said, processing the information that the cold monster worked with another person than the Police, it seemed to strange.

Smoke began to build up and when it cleared, the Bat was gone. Gordon was alone on the breezy rooftop of the station.

"The Bat has a partner," he thought aloud. "What is the world coming too?"

And on the other rooftop sat Nightwing, dressed in full garb, using the listening device which the Bat had set up on the rooftop; a big grin on his masked face.


	9. MDK ISSUE 9

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay so this one is possibly the shortest Chapters I could write but I felt that what is coming next needed a whole chapter to itself, it's a real plot changer in the series and is going to define the rest of the series, trust me. So anyway, hope you enjoy, a review would be great and just keep reading guys.

**ISSUE 9:**

Nightwing extended the wings from the armour plating covering his shoulder blades and descended to a large rubbish receptacle and slipped off his black duffle bag. He slipped it behind the bin and pressed the temple on his mask which had a button hidden inside.

"My clothes are in place," he said into the microphone inside the suit. He released the button and gestured with his gloves, the mask picked it up and set the wrist band to grapple hook.

He aimed at the rooftop above and was suddenly yanked into the air.

"Good, now get into position round the back and wait for my signal," the Bat told him through the communicator in the mask.

"Okay," Nightwing replied, touching down onto the building and extending the wings on the suit, he was in the perfect place to glide to his position. "But I want in, don't leave me out on this."

The Bat ended the line and he could tell that the mysterious vigilante wasn't going to be told what to do by his new protégé. Nightwing flew through the air and safety rolled along the top of the building which he was posted on. Here he had a perfect view of the warehouse, the docks and the roads just in case the Police rolled in too early.

He set the lenses on the mask to night vision and magnification and crouched in a comfortable position, just like Bruce had taught him, he could be here for a _long_ time.

He sat perfectly still, his eyes constantly scanning the area with his eyes, ready to instantly update the Bat if the need arose.

_Bang!_ A gun shot went off from the warehouse and Nightwing instantly came to life. Either one of two things happened. The Bat had been seen and he'd dodged the bullet or taken it to the armour; which would protect him at anything but close range. Or he'd been shot and couldn't call him in because he was being beaten to death.

He had to treat this as a worst case scenario and that meant he had to get into that warehouse. He saw the window high up on the warehouse and underneath that was the power box which energised the whole complex.

He produced the sharp object he had named a batarang from the gauntlet and unfolded the wings from the suit. He jumped off the building and felt the rush of the wind as he soared through the sky. He aimed up the batarang hoped that his aim was good tonight.

As he neared the thin glass pane, he threw the metal object and watched as it hit the power box and killed the power in the warehouse. He tried to suppress a grin as the lights went out and flew through straight through the window.

He flipped onto one of the boxes and watched down below with night vision as the thugs and goons inside the warehouse were blinded by the enveloping darkness.

"Who killed the lights!" screamed a high pitched voice from the centre of a circle of armed men which was forming.

"Me!" Nightwing shouted, he couldn't help himself.

"What the hell?" shouted the small voice. "Who are you?"

Nightwing could spy the Bat moving in the shadows. _What's going on?_ he thought. That's when it hit him. _Oh fuck!_

Nightwing watched as the Bat moved through the men, striking them on pressure point and nerve clusters, silently taking out the men who could hear men falling and breath escaping their unconscious lungs.

_He hadn't gone in yet_, he thought; wanting to smack himself in the face.

One by one the men in the circle fell, leaving the owner of the squeaky in the centre was left. Nightwing could see that the man was small, pudgy and dressed in an ill fitting suit. He could tell that it Little Jon, the boss of the gang which had been nick named the Merry Man.

The Bat grabbed the man by the lapels of his jacket and brought him up close, the blind man looked absolutely terrified.

"Stop the deal!" the Bat barked in a gruff tone. "Or I'll beat you until you do."

"Please, leave me alone!" whimpered Lil' Jon. "I'll stop!"

"Good," the Bat barked. Suddenly he smacked the man in the neck and dropped him on the ground. He then turned and stared at Nightwing on top of the boxes. "We'll talk later, get changed."

The Bat turned and disappeared into the boxes.

_Fuck!_ Was all he could think.


	10. MDK ISSUE 10

**ISSUE 10:**

Ryan kept trying to keep his head in the zone as he coordinated multiple people across the warehouse and the docks as the GCPD collected up the drugs, firearms and stolen money from inside the warehouse.

All he could was feel regret of what he had done. This one mistake could have cost him his whole training and vigilante identity with Bruce. But he had to try and refocus as he saw Gordon and Tom make their way over to him.

He slung his duffel bag, with his Nightwing costume stuffed inside, over his shoulder and walked over to them, meeting them in the middle.

"How did you get here so quick?" Tom asked with a smile.

"I was running around near here and when I got a call from the Station with the coordinates; I changed and ran straight here," he replied with grin. He felt like shit but Tom always made him feel better, that was why they were such good partners.

"Well it's good to see you are here," the Lieutenant replied, trying to take the friendly conversation back to the current case. "Now we have another gang down and I've decided to be kind on you guys and transfer all the paper work to the Sergeants."

"Sweet!" Tom grinned, almost doing a dance on a spot; he was like a child and it made Ryan smile.

"But I want you to interview the ring leader here, Lil' Jon, and try and see how much we can squeeze out of him," Gordon said, his coat ruffling behind him in the wind.

"Cool," Tom smiled, producing a set of cop car keys and spinning them on his finger. "Let's get down to the station."

"Give me two minutes," Ryan told him as Gordon walked off and Tom electronically unlocked the car. "I need to make a call but I'll make it quick."

"Fine but hurry up, I can't wait to scream at that little guy," Tom grinned, opening the car door.

Ryan turned away as Tom slid into the driver's seat and produced his mobile phone. If he couldn't get the mask on; he had put a special app that Bruce into the phone which linked into comms system and could only link in when someone allowed it in; it was like an untraceable phone connection which could be cut off quickly.

He activated the app and held his sleek smart phone to his ear. He waited for it to beep. Slowly he waited for Bruce to answer the call. After a few seconds, Bruce picked up.

"What is it?" he said, sounding unnaturally calm.

"I'm going down to the station to interview Lil' Jon," Ryan explained. "But I wanted to say sorry to you first."

Bruce remained silent.

"Bruce?" Ryan asked the silence, slightly worried.

"Yes."

"I just wanted to say sorry."

"There's no need."

"What?" Ryan uttered, clearly confused.

"People make mistakes, that's how we learn," Bruce told him, coolly. "I am an example of that. I have learned from my few mistakes and turned myself into what I am now."

"Okay, good," Ryan sighed with relief. "Just wanted to make sure we were good."

"We are fine Ryan," Bruce replied, almost as if he was irritated. "Now get back to work, I have something I'm doing."

"Okay but don't leave me out," Ryan burst out as he moved towards the 'end call' button.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Bruce sighed, almost joking. Bruce then ended the call and Ryan grinned. The old man was growing on him. He pocketed the phone and returned to Tom who was looking rather impatient in the car.

The interview room was a small grey perfectly square concrete room and in the centre was a table, a few chairs and metal in case recording device; just in case someone tried to break it.

Lil' Jon, a once mighty gang boss, sat in the room; looking bemused and frightened. He had just met the Bat and he'd been stopped by him. All he could see was Bats and all he could think was that the creature was coming for him.

He anxiously turned to the door to see Detective Connolly and Detective Jones enter the room. He fumbled nervous and turned to face the wall. The two Police officers sat down at the other side of the table and placed a folder down.

"Mister John," Ryan said, trying to get the clearly distressed man's attention. "Are you okay?"

"The Bat," the criminal boss mumbled, twiddling his stubby thumbs. "Bats, flying rats, bats, bats..."

He sat there staring at the table, his eyes wild and terrified.

"Bats?" Tom asked.

"The fucking Bat!" he screamed. "He's coming to get me and he's gonna fucking kill me!"

"No one's coming to kill you," Ryan said, going for the comforting route.

"He's going to kill me and then throw my boy in a trash compacter!"

"Shut the fuck up man!" Tom shouted at the hysterical man. Tom jumped up and backhand slapped Jon across the face. Jon took the impact and fell out of the chair with a grunt.

As soon as Jon hit the floor, Tom came out of character and grinned at Ryan, he loved playing bad cop. Jon climbed back into the chair and looked more scared of Tom that he did of the Bat.

"Now we'll start the interview and if you start being an idiot again I'll punch you in the fucking nose; are we clear?" Tom barked, resuming the bad cop identity.

"Yes, yes," Jon whimpered, rubbing his face.

Ryan produced the remote from his trouser pocket and activated the recording device. "Gotham Central Police Department Records, Interview number 2759632, the time is eleven thirty pm, Mister Lil' Jon Harwood is the interviewee."

Ryan stopped speaking to the device and looked directly at the man who was slowly coming back to life from the dark abyss in which the Bat had flung him in; Ryan noticed the cowl and the white eyes had that effect on people.

"Now Mister Harwood," Ryan began. "Have you been leading a gang in arms dealing, drug smuggling, muggings, murder, assault and the supposed attack on the life of Bruce Wayne?"

"Yes," Lil' Jon replied. "But I have some information you'll want."

"What is that Mister Harwood?" asked Ryan, with a soft expression; contrasting from the harsh glare from Tom.

"Well I need a deal," Jon replied, slowly gaining back his confidence which Ryan had seen him use in the warehouse. "You want info and I don't want to go to prison."

"We don't deal with criminals!" Tom replied, emphasising the word 'criminal'.

"Well I'm not giving you the information then," Jon retorted.

Without warning, Tom jumped from the chair and punched Jon in the nose, the sound of bones cracking filled the room and Jon dropped out of the chair again. Jon groaned on the ground. "I told you if you acted like an idiot again I'd punch you in the nose."

While Jon couldn't see, Tom cradled his sore hand, but as soon as he rose; Tom hardened his expression and stared at the man with the bleeding face.

"Now tell us what the information!" Tom barked.

"Okay, okay, just don't hit me in the face again!" the man whimpered, trying to stop his nose from bleeding.

"Well hurry up then!" Tom snorted.

"Okay," Jon whimpered. "My gang didn't just operate alone. How do think we're so good?"

"So you're saying there's a conspiracy in the gang world," Tom snorted, interrupting the man who was clearly scared of him.

"There's a group," Jon told them. "A connection of gangs across Gotham, coming together for one goal."

"And what's that?" Ryan asked, stopping Tom from making a remark, he needed to know this, he had to tell Bruce.

"I'm sorry guys but this interview is terminated," came the familiar voice of their superior as the door opened. Gordon stepped in looking grim and defeated. Behind him came the Commissioner, a large muscular African-American man, the most decorated officer on the force; although most people claim he bought the position.

"What?" Ryan exclaimed.

"Mr Harwood here has been released on bail," Gordon explained to the two angry looking officers. "The Commissioner is here to see him to his car."

"And I think an apology is in order!" The Commissioner barked as he helped Lil' Jon out of his chair and motioning to the man's broken nose. "This man's medical bills are coming out of your pay." It was evident whose pay it would come from by the blood on Tom's knuckles. "Now let's get you out of here."

Lil' Jon, pint sized crime boss, was slowly taken out of the interview room by the head of the Police. Ryan and Tom sat perfectly still until the door shut behind the two of them. As soon as they were left alone with the Lieutenant, Ryan switched off the recording device and flipped over the heavy interview table.

"What the fuck!" Ryan screamed as he kicked his chair against the wall. "What the actual fuck Jim?"

"I'm sorry boys but there's no point arguing the Commissioner of Gotham Police," Gordon told him, trying to calm him down. "Not that I didn't try."

"Well thanks for that Jim," Ryan grunted, strutting out of the room with anger following in his wake.

"It's okay Jim," Tom said, getting up, trying to comfort him. "I'll go talk to him."

Tom exited the interview room and walked down the corridor which was lined with uniformed officers chatting and labelling the drugs and stolen firearms from the warehouse. He turned down a corridor and made his way to the changing rooms.

Ryan was going through his locker. He took out his coat and a large black duffle bag which he had at the crime scene.

"What's up?" Tom asked, sitting on the bench in the centre of the locker area.

"What's up?" Ryan sneered. "What's up?" He angrily slammed the locker door and threw the duffle bag on the bench. "Lil' Jon got away from us and all because of how corrupt the Police are! I bet the Commissioners even in on it!"

"Ryan, you've gotta calm down," Tom said in a soothing tone. "He got away but we'll nail him next time."

"No we won't!" Ryan exclaimed. "He'll just escape and come back again. And now I see why the Commissioner has outlawed the Bat; because he's the only thing that threatens this corruption!"

"He's outlawed because he wears a mask."

"But he's doing more good than us," Ryan retorted. "He's doing what we can't! Perform actual justice!"

"He's a criminal!" Tom retorted, raising his voice. "We wear badges and he wears a mask as if he needs to hide himself from us."

"That's the whole point!" Ryan exclaimed. "Who's scared of a man? But a symbol, a monster of the night, now that's truly terrifying! He wears a mask not to just protect himself or the people he loves, he does it because it means that the fear he instils in criminals is maximised. Fear is what keeps Gotham corrupt and its fear that'll save it!"

Ryan angrily pulled on his trench coat.

"How do you know so much?" Tom asked nervously.

"I just do!" Ryan growled, picking up the duffle bag.

"Ryan," he said warily, getting up from the bench. "Are you the Bat?"

"No!" Ryan snapped. "But right now I wish I was!"

Ryan walked straight towards the door scowling.

"You just need to cool off," Tom told him. "Come back in tomorrow and you'll be fine."

"No I don't!" Ryan shouted, turning back around to his partner. "Because I'm not coming back tomorrow. I'm done with the Police, I quit and I'm not coming back until I can arrest someone and know they'll pay their time, instead of being punched in the nose and then being set back on the streets to ruin more lives!"

Ryan reached under his jacket and produced his gun. He dropped it on the ground and then took his golden GCPD badge off his leather belt. He stared at the item, a symbol of the once power which the piece of expensive metal invested in a person, and then tossed it to Tom.

"One day I'll be back for that," he told his now ex-partner. "I'll see you around."

Ryan turned and walked away from the locker room for the last time as Tom stood bewildered with the badge. Did the most dedicated Detective on the force just quit? Did he just see his best friend give up on his dream job and walk away?

He didn't really know what happened but he did now that things were only going get worse at GCPD from here on in.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

What did I tell you, so this chapter is less action and more story but what you guys have coming next is following on the story with a bit more action which is just gonna be great. So keep reading.


	11. MDK ISSUE 11

**ISSUE 11:**

Ryan turned up the collar on his coat as he exited the Station for the last time. He was angry, furious; rage filled his body as he came to terms with what had just happened. In the space of an hour, he'd lost a lead on a criminal organisation, lost a suspect and criminal to the corrupt system that was Gotham Central Police Department and quit his job.

He turned his head to see Lil' Jon, the small criminal who he'd just arrested and lost to the Commissioner, getting into a long black limousine. He was with the Commissioner who was talking to him like they were best friends. The Commissioner opened the door and Lil' Jon went to get in when he saw the scowling Ryan.

He grinned and waved at him. "Bye Detective and thanks for $5,000!"

Lil' Jon got in and the Commissioner waved goodbye to him and then closed the door. The car slowly pulled away and Ryan good tell that Jon was watching out of the back window of the elongated car.

The Commissioner turned and walked back up the steps. As he passed Ryan he said, "Goodnight Detective Connolly."

"Goodnight, _sir_," Ryan growled, a strange fury in his voice as he said 'sir'.

That's when an idea flashed through his head. Ryan Connolly was going off the grid and Nightwing was coming back on. He'd just quit everything holding him down and now he could devote himself to his cause. And his first mission was to have a nice little chat with the man in the limousine that was coming out of the pay which was never coming to him.

Lil' Jon was so glad he hadn't given the Police the details of the organisation. If he had then he wouldn't be sitting in a long, comfortable, limousine guzzling champagne which was already prepaid for; well it was coming out of the Detective's wages.

He popped the cork on the second champagne bottle and leaned back into the comfortable leather sofa which ran along the edge of the decked out car. He wished someone was in here to share the ride with him but he just shrugged it off and kept on drinking.

He sat in the automobile, thinking about how the organisation had changed his life and how that now he could afford to buy a limousine on a whim. He was finally in control of his life and that wasn't going to change any time soon.

_THUNK!_ Something hit the back of the car, Jon sat up immediately, almost dropping the long bottle which he was already necking down. He instantly stumbled to the inter-com button and pressed it down hard.

"What the fuck was that?" he screamed.

"I don't know sir," the driver said, slightly nervous.

"Well fucking find out!"

"Shh," said a voice coming from the shadows.

Suddenly the top window rolled back over and Jon felt something hard hit his chest. He looked down to see something black stuck to his chest and a red light was attached.

"That's a bomb and the button is in my gauntlet," the voice told him. "Answer my questions and I'll let you go."

"Who are you?"

"Turn off the inter-com and we'll talk."

Lil' Jon did as he was told, moving from the inter-com, he asked, "Are you the Bat?"

"No I'm not," the voice said. He then moved out of the dark and into the light. He had sandy brown hair which was dark with wet from the rain, he had a strange looking black face mask, a black suit with a blue image on his chest and on his wrists were long gauntlets which were navy. He wasn't terrifying like the Bat but he looked just as formidable. "But you're going to wish I was."

"What's this on my chest?"

"It's a bomb without power to blow and hole in your chest and leave me unharmed."

"What do you want?"

"I want information," the man growled at him. "You just escaped Police custody on bail, how did you do that so quickly?"

"How do you know that?"

"I'm a Detective, I have my resources."

"Detective?"

"I'm not with the Police. I work with the Bat and if I don't like what you say, I'll call him in."

"No please, don't do that!"

"Well answer my questions," the man dressed in black commanded. "How did you get out on bail in barely under an hour?"

"I'm connected," the man replied, clearly scared of the man or the prospect of meeting the Bat again. "I know people, who know people, who know other people. They got me out of the Police because they own the Police."

"No one owns the Police."

"That's what you think," Lil' Jon chuckled. "The people I know own everything and know everybody."

"And who are they?"

"The Lig-" Lil' Jon was cut off by a bullet through the head. His body flopped over dead and the champagne bottle hit the floor.

"Shit," Nightwing mumbled. "Did you get that Bruce?"

"Yes and we have recorded evidence that you didn't kill him," his mentor said through the communications device in Nightwing's mask. "The audio is also perfect after the device you put on his chest."

Nightwing opened the sky roof and hauled himself on top of the car. "I thought that was a nice touch, why would I blow him up, fear overruled his head."

"Good deduction, now get after that shooter, I'll be with as soon as I can."

Nightwing motioned and set his gauntlets to grapple hook mode. He fired off the compressed gas device and rocketed off the expensive car containing the dead corpse and flew through the air with rapid speed.

He soared through the sky and used his lenses to lock onto a lone man, carrying what looked like a wrist mounted gun, running along a rooftop.

_Gotcha_, he thought as he unhooked the grapple and extended his wings, using his momentum to fly through the air and soar towards the rooftop. He navigated himself above the running man and watched as he continued sprinting, not noticing Nightwing above him.

He nosedived to the ground and landed on top of the assassin. He flattened the man to the ground and jumped to his feet. "Who are you?" he barked.

The assassin was silent, he rolled over and held up his strange arm mounted device. He opened fire, bullets soared through the air and Nightwing instantly flattened himself to the ground, producing a batarang from his utility belt.

He tossed the weapon and slyly watched to see the leather straps, that secured the device onto his arm, were cut into multiple pieces. The weapon slipped off his forearm and clattered on the floor.

"Shit!" the man exclaimed, through his metallic head mask that covered his whole head. He jumped to his feet and turned to see a helicopter coming towards the building, his rescue.

Nightwing jumped up and watched as the man dressed in a black costume with a metallic head and a red lens covering one eye, turned and sprinted to the edge of the building. He was either going to jump or hitch a ride on the helicopter that was impossibly close.

_No you don't_, he thought as he sprinted after him. He saw that a rope ladder was coming out of the bottom, he was really against the clock. He kept running, trying to push himself but, he was too late.

The assassin jumped onto the ladder and the helicopter turned and moved off.

"Bruce!" Nightwing exclaimed down the communications device in the mask. "He's getting away on a helicopter."

"No he's not," Bruce replied.

That's when Nightwing heard turbines behind him. He turned to see the Batwing, finally getting its first flight out.

The Batwing was a large plane which was shaped like a bat, large, black and metallic. It was basically a bulkier version of a fighter jet.

The top of the jet popped open and Nightwing saw the Bat sitting in the pilot's seat. He grinned at the cowl covered vigilante and ran towards the flying machine. He jumped into the co-pilots seat and the top of the plan folded back over them to create a dark cockpit with neon controls and read out screens.

"This is freaking awesome," Nightwing grinned.

"Buckle up," the Bat growled. "We have to stop that helicopter."

Nightwing buckled himself in with multiple straps and the Bat pushed down a heavy glowing blue lever and the Batwing sped off across the sky, using thrusters and new vibration and magnetism technology to increase its speed.

The Bat had clearly mastered the controls of the plane, that was his nature, as he pilot the craft low and navigated past sky scrapers and apartment blocks. He decided to use the below the helicopter strategy, right now they had the element of surprise.

"So who the hell was that?" Nightwing asked, checking the read outs from the screens around him.

"That was an assassin Deadshot," the Bat told him. "He is connected to a criminal organisation that wants to stay secret so they hired Deadshot, an expert marksman who never misses, to keep it that way."

"Okay, so we'll just hand them over to Gordon with the video and audio evidence."

"Yes, though I have a feeling it could be passed through Detective Connolly."

"No it can't," Nightwing told him, adjusting a dial on the nearest neon control panel. "Detective Connolly's dead."

"You quit didn't you."

"Yes, after we lost Lil' Jon to the Commissioner, I realised that I couldn't keep going on with that amount of bull shit."

"Fair enough but we could've talked about this."

"No we couldn't have, I know now that I can't divide my time, I need to become Nightwing; we need to be one so that I can stop this corruption spreading."

"No you don't," the Bat said, using the cameras to check above him, the helicopter was still there. "I made that mistake and it's like a hole; it'll consume you until you are nothing more than a man in a suit. You need diversity and that's something I can't teach you."

"Well if being in that hole saves Gotham then I'll take the hole."

"I can see you're not going to see sense so I give up."

The Bat looked at another screen and gripped the pilot's controls and steered upwards, ready for a full blown assault on the helicopter. "Get ready," he said grimly.

"What the fuck is that?" Deadshot screamed, tearing off his metallic mask; revealing his pale skin and slicked back black hair.

"Looks like some sort of...bat," the helicopter co-pilot muttered. "It's him, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Arm the fricking guns then you retard!" the pilot shouted, trying to look behind him.

"Deadshot, we need you on a gun," the co-pilot said, getting out his seat and sliding one door to the side.

"My pleasure," Deadshot grinned to him, sliding the other door and pushing the large Gatling gun on a run way next to it into the open doorway which was rushing with air.

The co-pilot and the assassin strapped themselves to the gun and clicked the rounds into place. "Time to die you sonofabitch!" screamed the co-pilot opening fire on the rotating rapid fire weapon.

"They've got Gatling guns," Nightwing informed the Bat shaped vigilante.

"Yeah I saw," the Bat said grimly. "Arm the sound cannons."

"Are you sure?" Nightwing asked unsure. "Not the machine guns."

"No," the Bat snapped. "I put the guns in as a precaution but we are better than them, we don't have to use them and they do. That's the difference between us and them."

"And the fact we wear masks," Nightwing joked with a smile.

"What was that?"

"Nothing Bruce," Nightwing replied, charging up the sound cannons. "Open fire?"

"Hold your fire," the Bat said, trying to avoid the bullets but the plane was massive, and luckily the armour could take pretty all ammunition possible.

The Bat piloted the ship over the top of them and slowly aimed the ship downwards at them. "Fire!"

Nightwing set the sonic cannons on the helicopter which was trying to get out from under them. The sonic waves hit the rotors first and then ripped off the Gatling guns, nearly putting out the people who were firing them.

The helicopter slowly began to fall out of the sky. From inside the Batwing, Nightwing could hear them screaming as they fell to their deaths.

But the Bat was about preventing death, that was his code and he always had a plan. He flicked multiple switches across the glowing neon control panel and Nightwing watched as he deployed multiple magnetic coils which stuck to the broken flying machine and grabbed them from the force of gravity.

"Nice one Batsy," Nightwing smiled.

"Don't call me that," the Bat groaned. "Now let's get these guys to the Station and then get back to the Cave. We still need to talk."

"Sure," Nightwing replied, powering down the cannons and powering up the thrusters for a full sprint to the Station and back.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

So yeah, this was Issue 11 in the long saga. Now I did plan for more of a fight sequence in this but I decided to shorten it down and add another rogue to the gallery which is slowly forming in this new DC Universe. I hope you enjoyed it anyway and we have something coming up quite soon, something almost extraterrestrial, you'll get it when you read it.


	12. MDK ISSUE 12

**ISSUE 12:**

The drop off of Deadshot and the rest of the criminals was easy and luckily no one had actually seen him; so he had no chance of being linked with Nightwing. They then headed back to the 'Bat Cave', well that was his nickname for it, where Bruce parked the Batwing next to the 'Bat mobile/Bat Tank' he couldn't really decide on the name and the Bat Cycle, among other black vehicles. But instead of having their talk, Bruce went straight off to the 'Bat Computer'.

Nightwing took off the mask, turning back to Ryan Connolly, and sighed. If he was going to not be linked with the symbolic crime fighter that was Nightwing, he was going to need to look slightly different.

He went into the metallic changing booth and stripped off the Nightwing armour, gadgets and skin tight under armour. He pulled his white shirt and suit trousers from the bag and pulled them on. He'd need to go back to his apartment and get some of his clothes, or at least buy some more.

He placed the costume on the tray inside the booth and pushed in the wall. Bruce had a new kind of vacuum which took the clothes and then pushed them back onto the mannequin, he didn't understand it yet but it was still cool.

He exited the booth and called up the elevator for the grandfather clock entrance, there were tonnes of them throughout the house but he preferred the grandfather clock one as it was in the centre of the house and it was the first one he had used.

He rode the elevator up to the top and exited the elevator and made sure the clock swung shut behind him. He saw Alfred wheeling across in his wheelchair.

"Hey Alfred," Ryan shouted. The elderly man spun around in his electric wheelchair to face him.

"Yes Master Connolly," the elderly man smiled.

"Please Alfred call me Ryan."

"Okay...Ryan."

"Do we have any black hair dye in the house and a shaver?"

"I believe we have some upstairs in the shower room cabinet sir and the shaver is on the side. May I ask why you need them?"

"I need a better disguise," Ryan replied heading up the marble steps and towards the large marble shower room. The whole house was magnificent and the bathroom was no exception.

Ryan had got used to being around the glamour of the Wayne estate, made the city and his apartment look even more of a shit hole. He strutted past the extravagant bath and the large shower and made his way to the large full length mirror, sink and row of cabinets.

Ryan went into the cabinets and plucked out an electric shaver which appeared fully charged and a box of black hair dye.

As he slowly stared to shorten his hair with the charger he began to think about what he was doing. Before it was a thought and now it was a real thing.

He cut away his hair until it was long enough to style and look like hair but nowhere near as long or as thick as his old hair cut. He then grabbed the box of hair dye and began to follow the instructions on the box.

He'd lost contact with his family years ago, they either died or lost touch. His best friends were from work and they never really spoke unless it was about work or they were procrastinating at work. His job was his life and when he saw there was a better path which did the exact same thing, but with actual results, what else is there to regret and miss.

He didn't have a girlfriend, a brother or a best friend but he did have a mentor and a second identity which had now evolved to become him. As slowly washed the black dye out of his now shorter hair, he realised that this was his first step from being Ryan Connolly to Nightwing, partner to the mysterious Bat.

He dried his hair with a towel and smiled at himself in the mirror. He looked completely different with his shorter black haircut, it was almost unnatural. He threw the box in the bin, cleaned up the hairy sink and then left the room.

Bruce sat in the cave, staring at the overly large screen that made up the 'Bat Computer'. He moved through a set of documents and a set of stills that looked like they were all different police interviews, one of them was Ryan's interview with Lil' Jon who was now dead.

"What are you looking at?" Ryan asked, walking over with his new hair style.

"Nice hair cut," Bruce replied, almost sarcastically. "I'm going through interviews that have a common theme, something about an organisation which their 'gangs' worked for."

"So you're saying that Lil' Jon wasn't lying!"

"That was why Deadshot killed him, because the organisation paid him to, a bit like they paid the Sportsmaster to assassinate me."

"So how are we going to find them?"

"Well like Lil' Jon told you, they own the Police so we go through the supposed top of the food chain, the Commissioner."

"I didn't tell you that," Ryan thought aloud. "You were listening in on the interview!"

"Of course I was; I never leave it all to the Police, that's how I operate. I don't work with the Police, I use the Police and they work for me; they just don't know it."

"Okay," Ryan said, almost worried. "So the Police are run by a criminal organisation and you're going to use their own Police against them?"

"Affirmative," Bruce replied.

Ryan noticed he hadn't even removed the bat suit, the collar, cowl and cape sat on the ground next to him.

Bruce fingers tapped along the keyboard as he typed up code and opened different windows until he had a desktop inside a pop-up window.

"We have control," Ryan smiled.

"We're lucky he's not logged on," Bruce told him, opening up the computer's documents.

"He's probably partying it up with the crooks or killing someone himself."

"It doesn't matter if he is, we'll get him later."

Bruce opened up a program and the Commissioner's documents were slowly scanned for incriminating evidence. It didn't take a second before they had half of the computer's data usage highlighted. His computer was infested with criminal activity.

Ryan watched as Bruce selected the least obvious document, a bank transfer. It showed the Commissioner getting a large sum of money from an unknown Swiss bank account.

"Who has that much money?" Ryan asked, shocked.

"Wayne Enterprises but I know that's not possible," Bruce replied. "The only other possible solution is Lex Corp."

"What Lex Luthor?" Ryan asked. "But he's as white as snow, he's a goodie goodie, the poster for the ideal American."

"Common misconception," Bruce told him sharply. "He's steeped in criminal activity, he deals with terrorists and thugs, all under the table of course."

"That's so weird."

"I guessed he was involved but he's smart and connected, not a good combination."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Find out what computer system the organisation runs on and then see what they have on their agenda."

"Well that's do that then."

Bruce began to type on the large keyboard and Ryan stared at the screen. Suddenly a long set of documents appeared and one caught Bruce's and Ryan's eye.

Project Krypton. Bruce opened the file and a large report popped up. Bruce read it with his calculating eyes. Ryan took in the information that lay in front of them.

"What the fuck?" Ryan asked.

"This isn't just a criminal organisation," Bruce said. "They're a network of people that are doing multiple things at once. It's like a Nexus of criminals, scientists, philosophers and practically anyone."

"Lex Corp are part of a criminal organisation and one of their projects is storing an alien?"

"An alien which they plan to turn into a world dominating solider," Bruce said. "We need to see this alien because I have a feeling this could be very bad."

Bruce reached down a picked up the cowl, collar and cape off the floor and began typing on the computer.

"I'll start the car," Ryan told him. "And I'll drive."

"Okay," Bruce said, clearly concentrating on something.

"Great!" Ryan smiled, making his way back to the changing booth.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

There it was, Issue 12, hope you enjoyed it and the upcoming piece is quite obviously about the Big Blue, I hope you are liking it so far and as always, reviews would be nice as it tells me someone out there is enjoying these and that I should at least try and carry on with them.


	13. MDK ISSUE 13

**ISSUE 13:**

The Bat Tank, the name Ryan had picked, rolled down the thick desert and woodland area. The vehicle was a tank with wheels and thicker armour, so it rolled easily over the fallen tree logs and rocks which lay along the ground.

Nightwing checked the sensors on the dashboard and saw that their destination was up ahead. Though he didn't really need it as he could see up ahead was a large mountain which had a large 'S' inside an upside down triangle carved into it. It was quite an amazing spectacle and it made him wonder how no one had noticed this base before.

"How did you not find out about this place?" Nightwing asked.

"It's had a lot of masking covering it," the Bat replied, staring forwards, he was clearly reading data from inside his cowl.

"Well what do you actually know about this place?"

"It's in a mountain, one of the most secure prisons on the planet and it's made so that no sun light will ever get in."

"Why's that?" Nightwing asked, slowing down the tank.

"Because of the two inmates," the Bat said as Nightwing parked the tank a few metres from the base large stone entrance.

Nightwing popped the top of the cockpit and the two vigilantes jumped out. Nightwing closed the car with a button on his gauntlet and using his hand motion controlled computer inside his suit, he activated the vehicles security protocols.

Extra armour plating slid over the windows and the suspension dipped and the car sank towards the ground. It acted like a tortoise, ready to defend itself from attack. It also had a special feature which is if someone got too close it would electrocute the exterior shell when anyone or anything came into contact with it.

The Bat turned off and strutted across the early morning desert plane. It slowly dawned on Nightwing on how he hadn't slept in a while and it was 6am, Alfred had complained to him a few times about Bruce's lack of sleep and honestly Nightwing could understand how the Bat didn't sleep, being a hero was too much fun!

The two arrived at the large 'S' insignia and the Bat produced a small bat shaped device and he threw it at the large double electronic doors at the bottom. The device beeped and suddenly the door opened.

_Electronic door hacking device_, Ryan thought with a smile. As the Bat passed the door he ripped the device off and stuffed it in his utility belt. The two moved into the base and the two of them looked about.

The place was a maze of corridors and in the far corner was a computer. The Bat instantly went to it and took a wire from his belt and plugged his suit into a computer. He began to move his hands in a strange way, though Nightwing knew he was using the hand motion technology in the suit.

He rapidly hacked into the computer system of the entire base. Nightwing looked along the corridors to see that this place was chocked full of cameras and sensors, though his hacking device had nullified the ones at the entrance.

The Bat began to slowly go through the camera, watching what they had on offer and then nullified them. He'd identified their targets and now they were going to collect them.

The two costumed heroes made their way down the corridor, the Bat guiding them down different corridors with his map which he had displayed in the one way lenses of his cowl. Nightwing took instructions as he saw a large steel door up ahead with the same insignia that had been carved into the mountain. Someone had paid close attention to the decoration.

"I've sort of read the file but tell me, what is this place?"

"It's a prison and research facility built around two living specimens of extra terrestrial life," the Bat said, using his in built computer to open the doors automatically, since he was now partially hooked into the system.

The door slid open and the two heroes looked inside to see the two living inhabitants of the base, sitting in the face corner, looking malnourished and terrified. The Bat and Nightwing walked inside and the door slid shut behind them. The Bat used his computer to turn on the artificial lights inside the spacious metal cell.

"Please don't hurt us!" exclaimed the man inside.

The, what Ryan thought was an, alien was skinny and tall with wavy black hair and scared blue eyes. He was wearing some sort of skin tight body suit which had the same 'S' insignia that was all around the base covering it.

"We're not here to hurt you," Nightwing told him.

"Please don't hurt us!" he said again. But this time a small, malnourished, white dog whimpered along with him, the dog snuggled up close to his skinny rib cage.

Nightwing looked about, though knowing no one was around, and then took off his domino mask. "I'm a friend."

"Friend?" asked the skinny man, almost as if he hadn't heard the word.

"Yes friend," Ryan told him, getting closer and crouching to his level. "We're here to get you out of here."

"Get out?"

"Get you out of this cell," Ryan told him with a smile.

"We've got guards coming, they've been alerted to our position," the Bat told the two of them, opening the cell doors automatically.

Ryan pressed on the mask and became Nightwing again. "Come on let's go."

Nightwing helped the skinny man to his feet and the dog slowly got up after him. Nightwing propped him up as he walked, he was very weak and tire looking, as the Bat exited.

"We can't take the corridor but we can cut through the lab," the Bat instructed and instead of pointing opened the door they needed to use through his automatic control, he was seriously over using it at this point; well that's what Nightwing thought anyway.

The two men, the alien and the dog made their way down the corridor and into the 'lab' which the Bat shut off behind them.

This room wasn't the stereotypical lab, it was a large metallic temple to science of another world. The tables were filled with clutter but the main thing in the room was a large object which was a sphere with a cylinder attached to the bottom and burnt onto the sphere was the 'S' insignia that was practically on every surface across the base.

The far door was in the opposite direction, so they had to pass the ship. As they made their way across the room, the skinny man stared at the strange hunk of metal. Nightwing tried to keep him moving but the alien reached out and touched the ship's cold exterior.

Suddenly the ship buzzed and everyone in the room looked at the object. Light built up around the sphere and then disappeared; a man appeared. The man looked middle aged and a lot like the alien but more fuller and less bony looking, he wore long robes and also had the 'S' symbol on his chest.

"Hello Kal-El," the man said. "I am Jor-El your father. You are not of this world, you are not one of them though you may look like one; you are actually from your home planet, Krypton."

"What the hell?" Nightwing muttered as they all stared at the unrealistic looking man who spoke in a posh tone.

"Your home, Krypton, has fallen a great tragedy," Jor-El said. "Our planet has exploded and I am sadly deceased. But you have been sent from our planet to Earth where you will be a God. The sun here is yellow, unlike our native red, which will grant you great powers and create a division between you and the homosapiens. They can be a great people Kal-El, they only need the light to show them the way."

The man composed himself and disappeared. All of them stared at the, what they thought was a, space ship. It began to rumble again and a beam shot out and directly shot the skinny alien, who they thought was the Kal-El the holographic man spoke of, in the face.

Kal-El went rigid and began to twitch. Nightwing stepped back and watched as the skinny man began to stand more firmly, as if he could now hold himself properly. The small white dog whimpered for his master as he began to shake violently.

Another beam of light moved across him and slowly, molecule by molecule the skin tight suit fell away from his body and was replaced by another costume entirely. The light stopped moving down his body and Nightwing looked at his new clothes. His suit was a dark navy blue which looked like it was partially organic suit of armour, the 'S' symbol was on his chest but it was coloured red and gold. A gold thread ran along his waist and on his feet were knee high red boots with the same design as the rest of the suit. Coming from the 'S' shield on his chest was a long flowing dark red cape which was made of strange material. The suit looked completely alien of design and origin.

The light disappeared around his head and slowly Kal-El looked about the room with a less fearful gaze. He then looked down at the small white dog and smiled. "Krypto, are you okay boy?"

The dog barked happily at the alien, knowing he was okay.

"I need to get into the sun," the alien told Nightwing.

A loud bang came from the door as the soldiers from the base began to try and get in.

"This way," the Bat commanded in his gruff voice, turning to the door at the back of the large lab.

Nightwing gripped Kal-El under the arm and helped him walk, he had completely changed his demeanour but he was still weak; his dog was just a little bit stronger. They crossed the lab, with the alien's cape flowing behind him.

The Bat opened the door automatically and the four of them stepped through into a smaller corridor. It was darker than the rest of the room.

"This runs under the complex, it's only used in emergencies, and will lead us straight to the car."

"Okay," Nightwing replied. "What happened there back in the lab?"

Kal-El looked weak but turned his head to him. "That's the ship that brought me here and I'm psychically linked to it; thanks to my father. When I told it by mistake that there wasn't much time, the ship instantly pushed all the kryptonian knowledge that would have taken me at least ten years to learn into my mind."

"Like an instant knowledge download?" Nightwing checked.

"Yes," Kal-El replied with a weak smile. "This suit is Kryptonian battle armour and has been designed to fit me perfectly by the ship. All I need now is the sun."

"The sun?"

"It recharges his cells," the Bat interjected up ahead, clearly checking the map in his cowl. "It makes him have abilities of no human. So far the lab here have listed at least three, flight, strength and invulnerability, but they believe there might be even."

"My father wasn't sure of how many powers a Kryptonian would attain here," Kal-El told Nightwing in a friendlier tone. "But he had listed those three mainly."

The end of the corridor neared and the Bat quickly opened it with a movement of his hand. The four of them reached the end and they looked out to see the large yellow sun slowly rising into the sky.

Nightwing stepped back and Kal-El dropped to his knees, staring up at the big ball of radiation in the sky.

"It's so beautiful," he smiled. The white dog, Krypto, made his way over to the alien and snuggled up next to him. The sun light washed over them and they both smiled and took in the light.

Nightwing and the Bat watched as the two extraterrestrials charged themselves up with the yellow sun's radiation. The Bat watched with cold and calculating eyes, analysing every detail, while Nightwing watched with a smile; they were two captives who just wanted to see the sun.

Kal-El and Krypto slowly began to rise off the ground, though completely oblivious, they just stared into the sun. They hovered off the ground, gaining more and more altitude until they were as high as the mountain.

"Ah!" Kal-El cried, looking down at the ground. He began to wobble in the air, it was like he was learning to walk over again. Krypto just barked with excitement and rolled about in the air. Kal-El slowly stopped wobbling, straightened up and hovered above them all.

He dipped down and flew straight at the ground, looking like a god. He stopped himself at the last minute, wobbled a bit and then touched down onto the sandy rock ground.

"That's so cool," Nightwing grinned.

"That was fun," Kal-El grinned at him.

"We need to get moving," the Bat told them both.

The Bat turned around and walked off into the dusk. Nightwing followed after him and Kal-El turned around to see Krypto flying behind him. "Come on you," he grinned.

The snow white barked happily and flew next to him. The four of them, two black dressed vigilantes and two aliens who could both fly, made their way towards the large black tank-like automobile which sat in the desert.

"Stop where you are!" shouted a loud voice from behind them.

Instantly the Bat and Nightwing produced their sharp batarangs and go ready for a fight. Soldiers dressed in black armour swooped in from all angles, carrying large machine guns with round and rounds of ammunition.

"Shit!" shouted one voice. "They've got the Superman!"

_Superman,_ Nightwing mused in his head. _That sounds pretty cool_.

Suddenly the army looked slightly scared. "Open fire," shouted one of the largest officers.

Kal-El closed his eyes and rose of the ground with his arms spread, his red cape slowly moving behind him. The army lowered their weapons in fear. The alien opened his eyes which were now glowing red.

Beams of red hot energy coursed out of his eyes and hit the soldiers for hire. The energy swept across them and knocked them all to the ground and their guns exploded. Kal-El kept looking across the desert, taking out the men and then the rocky ground below them.

"Superman!" Nightwing shouted. "Close your eyes!"

Kal-El put his hands over his eyes, stifling the powerful beams. He shut his eyelids and the beams slowly stopped and when he opened them, he took in the chaos he had caused. He lowered himself to the ground and started crying.

"What have I done?" he whimpered to himself.

Nightwing looked to his ice cold mentor, who simply stared at the crying man, and then ran towards him and wrapped his arm around him; he also noted that he had denser muscles than back in the lab earlier.

"It's okay," Nightwing told him. "You're learning, it's okay."

"Look what I did!"

"You made a mistake and that's okay," Nightwing told him. "People make mistakes, that's how me learn. I'm an example of that. I learned from my mistakes and turned myself into what I am now."

The Bat almost smiled as Nightwing quoted Bruce to the weeping alien. _Who knew that Bruce Wayne's words could actually comfort someone, _Nightwing smiled to himself as Kal-El stopped sobbing.

"Now let's get you back to the Bat Cave where we can talk properly," Nightwing smiled to him. Kal-El looked round with a weak smile.

Nightwing helped him up and they turned to the Bat Tank. Krypto floated next to him and licked his face; making the Kryptonian smile. "Thanks boy."

The Bat turned off the security systems and popped open the cockpit of the automobile.

_This guy could definitely make a kick-ass hero_, Nightwing smiled to himself. _With a bit of practice first!_

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay so that was the climatic Issue 13. I know that some of these seem ant-climatic because of the way I cut the fights short but trust me, I will get better...one day. For the people who don't know, this Superman is rather like the Flash Point Superman but I will eventually have him on track to be the Man of Tomorrow. So yeah the costume is based off the cartoon version of Flashpoint and is then changed to be more of a 'Man of Steel' type costume. So as always, a review, favourite or a follow would because I think I might stop writing these because I don't think they're actually being read and enjoyed.


	14. MDK ISSUE 14

**ISSUE 14:**

The Bat rapidly ran through the data he had just collected on Kal-El who had now taken a liking to the name 'Superman' after Ryan had suggested it.

Kal-El and Ryan sat on the nearby bench, with Krypto in the middle.

"So your real name is Ryan but you're also Nightwing," Kal-El confirmed.

"Yeah it's secret identity," Ryan explained. "It means I can be go out and fight crime but not get mugged while I'm down at the store. It also means that people know me as a hero and nothing else, makes me seem more intimidating in a way. Mr Grumpy here has one to, but you'll have to wait till he shows you."

"Mr Grumpy can also hear!" The Bat snapped back, still not having lost the voice or taken off his cowl; whereas Ryan had removed his domino mask and become a lot less menacing than his alter-ego.

"Well stop being so cold," Ryan retorted. "All you've done is run tests on Kal-El and Krypto and not spoken to them once."

"Will talking to them sort out any of the problem we have right now?"

"No."

"Then I'll go back to analysing the data."

"He's not always this agitated," Ryan said with a smile to the alien. "But anyway, you should get a secret identity."

"A secret identity," Kal-El mused. "Does that mean I'd be a hero, like you?"

"Yeah, with your powers; which the list of is still growing, you could nullify crime with ease," Ryan replied. "But that does mean you'd need a normal life to and Kal-El is really an earth name."

"So what name could I have?" Kal-El asked.

"Well let's go with something like what you," Ryan mused. "Connor?"

"How about Clark?" the Bat asked from the computer. He turned around to face them. "Superman, if that is your chosen name, is something new to Earth entirely. Clark is an old stereotypical American name which would make you highly unlikely to be the flying man with a red cape."

"Clark," Superman mused. "I can go with that but what about a surname, I assume humans have these too; mine is El."

The Bat turned around and began to type in a search on a pop-up window. "I'm opening a list of names that would match 'Clark'."

A list popped up on the screen and Superman zoomed in one them. Ryan looked round to see his pupils dilate and twitch in a strange way, twitching and moving.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked.

"He's zooming in," the Bat explained. "His senses are highly increased from ours. His hearing is better than any dog or creature on this planet and his sight has multiple forms. Ranging from beams from his eyes to microscopic vision."

"That's crazy," Ryan smiled.

"Kent," Kal-El said. "I like the sound of Clark Kent."

"How many times did you process that?" the Bat asked.

"What?" Kal-El uttered.

"Your brain has been maximised beyond anything," the Bat told him. "You can calculate things faster than anything, along with your heightened senses, I believe you may have greatly increased speed."

"Does the list end?" Ryan asked, jokingly.

"Yes," the Bat told him, taking the statement literally. "But to the stupid you will appear to be a God on Earth."

"No, Superman will be a God on Earth," Kal-El told him. "Clark Kent will be a normal man."

"Good idea," Ryan smiled. "So we'll need to get you some new clothes. And I need some now so what about a shopping trip?"

"Okay but doesn't your planet have some form of currency?"

"Ah yeah," Ryan said, realising. "Hey Bats, got any spare money?"

"Ask Alfred for a spare credit card," the Bat told him. "And you can take one of the car but don't wreck it."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ryan grinned. "Come on Clark; I'm sure Alfred can find you a spare shirt to borrow."

Lieutenant Jim Gordon poured himself another glass of malt whiskey. Tom sat in the chair the other side of the Lieutenant's desk. The office lights were off and the sun light was pouring through the blind slats and hitting the room with a harsh light.

"So Ryan's quit," he checked, still not quite sure.

"Yeah," Tom replied with a sigh. "We argued about Justice and the Bat and then all of sudden he came out with this profound speech and quit."

"I can't believe it," Jim sighed; polishing off the small glass of liquor. "I thought Ryan would be the last person to give up on us."

"Well he has," Tom produced the golden GCPD Badge that Ryan had thrown at him. He placed it on Jim's desk and slid it over to him. "Here's his badge to prove it."

Jim held the cold metal badge in his hand and felt the weight of the situation. Ryan Connolly was possibly one of the best and loyal Detectives on Major Crimes Unit and now he had up and left them. Sure they had the Bat to cover them but it was the Officers that made the Police better and they had just lost one of their most up and coming Detectives.

"What are we going to do?" Tom asked him, snapping Gordon out of his thought.

"We're going to keep on moving," Gordon told him with a sigh. "We're going to do what we did before, just this time we crack harder on the corruption and we fight harder for our criminals. We are going to rid our unit of corruption and then clean up this department and then this whole city."

"You sound just like him sir."

"Sound like who?"

"Ryan."

"Well you know what they say, great minds think alike."

Far away from Gotham, Lex Luthor sat inside Luthor Corp Tower with a glass of whiskey in one hand. An accident had made him bald but he was sure that he would have been soon after anyway; though his stress came more from disappointment and failure of others.

He slumped down in front of a large computer monitor on his extra reinforced desk in his penthouse office. On the screen were six other shadowy people, all looking at him.

"The Kryptonian Super Soldier Project is now shut down," he declared to the screen. "The Kryptonians were broken out by what the guards call 'a bat monster and a black shadow'."

"This is not good," said a deep voice from the screen. "What about a weapon against the alien?"

"We never actually developed one," Luthor sighed. "The only thing we had over him was that he hadn't absorbed any sun light yet, so he hadn't developed any powers. But now he has absorbed sunlight we can't contain him."

"So what are we going to do L-3?" asked a heavily accented woman.

"We currently have a back up plan," Lex replied with a slight smile. "But we will try and find a weakness for him from our notes. Yet if the back up plan is successful then we won't need to search for the alien's weakness."

"What is this project L-3?" asked a higher pitched, almost childlike, voice.

"I think I might just call it, Project Cadmus," Luthor smiled, downing the whiskey in one.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

So there you go guys, that's Issue 14 for you. Now the most in depth DC fans will know half of the hints to the major villains and upcoming events of the saga. The organisation has a name and the codenames used in the last part are the biggest clue yet; along with the fact that Luthor is also part of the organisation. And I do love these stories but it would be nice to know people's thoughts so a review would be appreciated and if you'd like to see something in this brand new DC Universe then how about you give me some tips. I would love to collab with some authors on this story. So yeah, drop me a review sometime and I hope you enjoyed Issue 14 of the Batman; Mantle of the Dark Knight.


	15. MDK ISSUE 15

**ISSUE 15:**

The Gotham shopping district was busy for a Wednesday, particularly as half the city was in debt anyway. Ryan had bought half the clothes he needed or had back at his apartment before; Kal-El/Clark Kent was his main issue.

Since he'd left the base, Clark's shoulders, chest and muscle mass had doubled in size and anytime they found something that suited him, it was nearly ripped off his body. Luckily they had Bruce's credit card so he could pay for everything and not have to worry about the cost.

Clark came out of the booth wearing a pale blue suit shirt, charcoal grey suit trousers, a purple tie and a pair of black loafers. He looked completely different than he did at the base but he needed something more, clothes and a different demeanour were all good but people would recognise him easily.

Ryan had a mask which he wore to protect himself and to scare criminals. But Superman, he didn't need to be scary because his raw strength did that for him. Clark Kent needed to be the mask, something that he could wear to blend in. He needed something else, Ryan eyes moved across the shop and found what he needed.

"What do you think?" Clark asked with a smile.

"It's good, we've certainly found Clark's signature look but you need something else," Ryan stopped mid sentence and made his way to a long rack filled with spectacles. "I think Clark Kent needs his own mask."

Ryan selected off a pair of large, thin framed, circular spectacles and held them aloft. "These should do."

"But I don't need vision aids," Clark replied. He moved in closer and lowered his voice. "After all I do have microscopic vision and I learnt about an hour ago that I can see through walls and believe me, that's quite a fun power."

Ryan suddenly caught on. "Dude, you can't do that. And...that makes you a peep and a pervert; just don't do it you outer space sicko."

The two laughed and Ryan handed the glasses over to him. Clark held it as gently as he could, he had torn open the curtain of the changing booth earlier without meaning to; his new found strength was quite a burden, and slid then onto his face.

It almost made him smile at how different he looked. "Hunch your shoulders," Ryan told him. "With your strength I'm sure you won't damage yourself."

Clark hunched his shoulders and the disguise was complete.

"We've found Clark Kent," Ryan replied with a smile. "All we need now is a few more sets of suits, a spare pair of glasses and we can go."

Ryan found he never liked shopping but shopping for an alien was more fun than he thought. After spending at least over $10,000, which old Mr Wayne could afford, they left the shopping area and went back to the Valet section.

Ryan had donned a pair of black sunglasses as his 'disguise' in case anyone in the force happened to recognise him; even with the hair change, after all he had gone off the grid.

The Valet brought the black 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 round and handed over the keys. Bruce had at least 15 cars and all of them were amazing; though Ryan had selected the one nearest to the door which happened to be the Veyron.

Ryan had about five bags which three were his own and the rest he had given to the super strength and invulnerable alien who he had with him. They loaded them into the trunk and then jumped into the front.

Ryan gunned the engines and tore down the road. He watched as Clark fumbled in the passenger seat, feeling slightly enclosed.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked.

"I just feel that being in the car is kind of pointless," Clark replied. "I now know that I can fly and run probably faster than this car. So why would I sit in this and take the long way?"

"Because it's the right way," Ryan replied as he turned down a city street, avoiding a drunk homeless man.

Suddenly Clark grabbed his ears and Ryan slammed on the brakes. "Are you okay?"

"I can hear a whining noise," he moaned. "It's so loud!"

"Just cut it off," Ryan told him. "Just shut it off and listen to my voice. Let my voice fill your head; let my voice become your whole world."

Clark's wincing slowly stopped and he looked at Ryan. "Thanks."

"Now about that siren," Ryan began. "Could you find it?"

"I think so," Clark told him.

"Well let's suit up," Ryan told him, reaching into the back seat and producing two black duffle bags.

"Come on let's go!" screamed Rick above the sirens. "We have to get going!" He adjusted his motorcycle helmet on his head and moved the metal suit case about in his gloved hand.

"Don't worry mate," a British voice shouted from inside the jewellery store. "Time isn't a restriction for me."

The cockney British man ran his hand through his purple hair and grinned with bright white teeth. "Let 'em come," he grinned. His long black jacket and trousers contrasted with his colourful Union Jack t-shirt.

Multiple men moved across the jewellery store, picking up as much money and jewels as they could stuff into their metallic suitcases.

"But Manchester!" shouted Rick. "The Police will kill us!"

"Na they won't mate," the Union Jack man replied. "Not when I can stop bullets."

The gang of eight men finished their collection and hurriedly moved out, all cocking their automatic pistols. Black Manchester, their fearless British leader, followed behind them with a cocky swagger.

They made their way onto the streets when they didn't see the Police, they just saw a large muscular man wearing a red cape and blue body suit. But the weird thing about him was that he was hovering off the ground.

"Stop right there!" the man shouted at them.

Black Manchester swaggered through his group of armed men and into the front. "And who the fuck are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Superman," the man announced, touching down onto the ground. "And I'm here to stop you!"

"Really?" Black Manchester grinned. "'Cos that ain't 'appening."

Superman turned into a blue and red blur as he ran at super speed towards the group of criminals. The group began to step back but Black Manchester just splayed his hand. A green shield formed and Superman smacked into it; _hard_.

Superman bounced off the barrier and smacked into the far building; cracking the brick wall. Superman shook his head, he'd never really been in a fight before but he had learnt a few Kryptonian martial arts in the knowledge download earlier which he thought he could use.

He stepped closer to Black Manchester who dissipated the barrier with a grin.

"Can't 'urt what you can't touch now can you?" Black Manchester grinned at the large blue man who could move impossibly fast.

"How about you lower than barrier and we settle this properly," Superman suggested.

"'Ow 'bout no," Black smiled at him. "'Ow 'bout I beat the crap out of you and you then leave me alone."

Before Superman could come up with a retort; Black Manchester flicked his hand and smacked him with a psychic attack. Superman went flying down the street, skidding along the ground and nearly smacking into an oncoming car.

Superman stopped himself by flying into the air and watching Black Manchester and biker helmet gang on the ground below.

"Are you okay?" Nightwing asked. Superman pressed the ear piece which Nightwing had given him earlier in the car.

"Yes I'm fine though I'm struggling not to fry these guys," Superman said into the ear piece.

"Just keep going," Nightwing said. "Keep him focused on you, the Bat has already told me he'll be here soon and then we'll take him out from behind."

"You're just using me as an indestructible distraction," Superman smiled as he lowered himself to the ground.

"More like a punching bag that won't break under the psychic strikes," Nightwing replied.

Superman almost laughed at the quip, pressed the ear piece and slowly walked towards the band of men with powerful steps which nearly cracked the tarmac under his dark red boots.

"Don't do that again or you might just make me mad," Superman told him.

"And I wouldn't wanna do that now would I?" joked Black Manchester.

Manchester flicked his hand again, sending another psychic blast but this time the Kryptonian was ready. The strike hit him but simply tousled over his wavy black hair and shook his cape.

"I told you not to do that," Superman said through gritted teeth, trying to keep his growing temper in check.

He sighed but accidentally opened his mouth and blew a massive gust of wind at Black Manchester and his armed cohorts. The air built up and ploughed them down, sending them all onto their backs.

Superman smiled at this whole new power he'd discovered. Black Manchester rose to his feet first and flashed Superman an equally white grin.

"That wasn't a good move mate." Black Manchester turned to a deserted car and picked it up with his telekinesis. In one swift arm movement, he slammed the car into the alien with bone crushing force.

Superman flew sideways and smacked into the glass front of one of the shops. He groaned as he hit the marble flooring of the shop. He pushed the automobile off him and got to his feet. He dragged the car out of the shop and onto the street. He laid on the ground and turned back to Black Manchester.

"You neva give up do ya mate!" smirked Manchester. "Oh well more fun for me."

"Not really," Superman replied, looking behind him.

The Bat stood right behind Black Manchester with a needle in hand while Nightwing was making his way through Black Manchester's men with ease. He stabbed Black Manchester in the neck and the Brit collapsed to his knees.

"What is that?" he asked worriedly.

"A brain numbing drug," the Bat grumbled. "It cuts off your psychic powers."

"Oh fuck no!" Black Manchester screamed.

Nightwing finished off the last man with a smack of the baton and then back flipped over to the nullified British criminal. He switched his baton to a taser and jabbed him in the neck.

Electricity coursed through him and Black Manchester collapsed to the ground. Nightwing pushed the batons back into his gauntlets and looked at Superman who stood in the street, completely unscathed.

"Are you okay?" Nightwing asked the Kryptonian as the Bat tied the Saline bag filled with the brain numbing bag to Black Manchester and cuffed his hands behind his back.

"Yeah I'm fine," Superman replied with a smile. "That was fun."

"You really took a beating there."

"It was nothing, I think I could take even more."

"You probably could," the Bat said, moving on to cuff the rest of the criminals who were lying out cold on the ground. "We could test it if you want."

"Test?" Superman asked. "I'll pass thanks. But I wouldn't mind testing out how long I can sleep for."

Nightwing smiled. "I'm sure we have a bed back at the Mansion."

"Yes we do," the Bat replied. "You're obliged to take it."

"Does that mean I can learn your real identity?"

"Later," the Bat replied. "For now let's get back to the Cave, I need to do some research into Luthor Corp."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Superman's first outing as a hero and honestly I'm pretty pleased with what I've written, though I have literally just finished it after posting, and am looking forward to more action with the trio and maybe even Krypto getting in on the action. I hope you like the story and Issue 16 will be coming soon. And as always, a review would be appreciated (even though I haven't got angry yet |) that was an angry face btw.


	16. MDK ISSUE 16

**ISSUE 16:**

Ryan finished off drying his hair and pulled out a fresh t-shirt from his new bedroom wardrobe. Since he'd quit being Ryan Connolly, Bruce had let him take a room in the mansion.

His room was spacious and the walls were cream. The floor was made out of white marble and carpets were dotted around the room. It had a king sized bed, ensuite bathroom and large mirror and balcony at the back.

It'd been two days since their encounter with the psychic Black Manchester and since then Kal-El had either been sleeping under a light which replicates the rays of the sun, testing his powers or flying around the world; thinking.

Ryan dressed himself, still warm after his shower, and made his way downstairs. As he passed the lounge, he could hear rapid typing on a keyboard, only one person could type like that and it was Clark.

He wandered in, his socks padding against the marble tiles, to see Clark dressed jeans and a t-shirt; sitting on the couch with a laptop, and since he was inside the Manor he didn't have to don his glasses.

"What you doing?" Ryan asked, vaulting the couch and sitting next to the alien.

"Master the Internet," he replied with a smile. "But I'm also looking at what occupations are on offer for me?"

"A job?"

"Well it's been great living here but if Clark Kent is going to be a person; if I'm going to be a person, then I'm going to need a job and my own place to live."

"But can't you just stay here?" Ryan asked hurriedly. "If you want Bruce could give you a job at Wayne Enterprises and you can just stay here."

"Look Ryan, I like living here but you guys set me free from that cell to become my own person. I don't mind being Superman but I want to be Clark Kent too and Clark Kent needs a life of his own."

Clark turned back to the Internet search and Ryan stared into the blazing fire which he presumed Alfred had tended; he was old but he still worked to his maximum, which scared Ryan sometimes.

He thought about Clark leaving Wayne Manor. In a matter of days, Clark had grown on him and Ryan felt rather attached. It was almost like a paternal feeling, after he'd rescued him from the prison and watched him grow into a super powered vigilante. But like every good parent knew, he had to let go.

"Okay so what do you have in mind?" Ryan asked.

Clark looked up from the screen and turned to his best friend and mentor with a smile. "Well I'm thinking about something in the Media; as that seems to be a big industry on your planet."

"Media's a broad business, what would your speciality be?"

"I'm thinking something where I can be in the centre of all the action but never publically seen."

"Maybe a photographer?"

"I was thinking more of a journalist."

"You want to write for newspapers?"

"Yeah, why not?" Clark retorted. "The people who kept me captive fed me, barely, and taught me how to read, write and speak English."

"If you can get a job in it," Ryan smirked. "Though I'm sure Bruce mentioned something about being friends with the Editor of the Daily Planet; a paper in Metropolis, and that he was going to a benefit of theirs in a few days."

"So Bruce could get me a job in the papers," Clark smiled. "This Clark Kent character is really coming to life here."

Bruce's study was a complete contrast to his other office below ground. The walls and floors were wooden panelled and bookcases rose up along the far wall. A window was at the back, it looked out onto the front of the estate and Gotham City sat on the horizon. At the back were a few expensive artefacts and under that was a marble fire place. In the centre of the room was a large oak office desk with a computer and other office supplies on top; the most prominent feature was a black and white family picture in a golden frame.

Bruce, wearing a black turtle neck and grey trousers, was finishing off an email to the formidable business opponent Lex Luthor.

The Bat couldn't just appear in Metropolis and Bruce Wayne couldn't just disappear from Gotham so he had to match up these two events. So what could he do; but contact the bald businessman and propose a meeting which could lead to a merger between the two industrial giants. That would mean he could familiarise himself with the building, be in Metropolis and meet his family business' opponent. Also he would meet an old family friend, Perry White, he used to work as the media correspondent between Wayne Enterprises and the world and now he was Editor of the Daily Planet in Metropolis; and they just happened to be holding an event in a few days time.

He did like it when events panned out like this. He sent the email off and leaned back in his chair. His eyes slowly moved towards the black and white family photo on the desk. In the photo were three people, Thomas Wayne; a Physician and inheritor of the Wayne fortune, his wife Martha Wayne and their eight year old son; Bruce.

He cherished this black and white image as it was taken a few weeks before their deaths. Before the night in crime alley, before Bruce had had his childhood robbed from him and he gained a heap of mental and emotional scarring.

The shots of the small, petty, revolver ran through his mind. His whole life he'd been trying to stop those lead bullets escaping the barrel of the firearm but it was pointless. That was all it took, one bad night with one bad decision, to turn a man from a pompous play boy to a hardened vigilante who took to the streets to defend the innocent.

"Am I doing the right thing?" he asked the picture, desperately wishing an answer would come from the photograph. He stared at the image and got lost in the memory which he wished he could go back to and change.


	17. MDK ISSUE 17

**ISSUE 17:**

Lois Lane, star investigative reporter for Metropolis' Daily Planet, got out of her cab and stepped out onto the grimy streets of Gotham. She didn't like coming here, it scared her; it scared her to see what a once great city could become.

She adjusted her purple blazer and her pleated skirt as she waited for the taxi driver to hand her suitcase over from the trunk of the car. She slipped him the fee in notes and turned towards her hotel; which Perry had one of the new interns book.

Her high heels tapped up the steps and through the glass doors; into the hotel. She quickly book in, flashing her Daily Planet Press Pass, took her rooms card and went straight to the elevator.

She went up, pushing the thought of the possible crime that was happening outside from her head, in the posh elevator and waited for the ding. She finally reached the top and went straight to her room.

With a swipe of her card, she entered the room and locked the door. With a sigh, she walked into her room and slammed her case onto the bed and sat down with a weary sigh.

It had been a long flight over to Gotham and all she was doing was attending a Wayne Enterprises' Press Conference. Perry had pushed her to come here though she really wanted to be hitting the big time marks, like following up on the rumour of a man controlling water or a woman who can make men tell her the truth against their will.

Yet sadly, she was in Gotham; sitting in an overpriced hotel, waiting for the press conference the next day.

As she felt depressed and slightly angry about her situation, a loud crash came from outside. She kicked off her heels and rushed to the large balcony and pushed open the glass panelled doors.

Smoke rose from a large crater in the road as two figure emerged from the ground. One was a large, bulky, male and the other was a skinnier, but equally toned, woman. They looked very similar with their blonde hair, which had shaved streaks at the sides, and their blue eyes.

They both looked up into the sky to see a blue and red blur move towards the ground. The man and the woman were both dressed in white sleeveless work out shirts, which look stretched, black trousers, combat boots and fingerless gloves; topped off with red suspenders.

Superman's, alien made, dark red boots touched the ground and he stood perfectly still; staring at the two people ahead of him.

"I told you to leave that bus alone," he said in a deep, silk like, voice.

Lois looked at the man dressed in the strange blue and red outfit, his cape fluttering in the night time breeze. She was instantly mesmerised by his perfect face, his wavy black hair and his toned body. In that instant she realised she could listen to his voice all day long.

"Well we told you to back off!" the girl barked at him.

"Well that's going to be a problem," Superman replied.

"Are you stupid or something?" asked the bulky male. "We're not called the Terror Twins for nothing!"

"And I'm not called Superman for nothing either."

"I don't get it," the girl snapped back at him.

"You don't have to."

Superman ran at super speed straight at the two of them and close lined them, knocking them into the ground. The two twins fell but were straight back up. The man instantly punched Superman in the back, knocking him to the ground. The girl then picked up the blue and red clothed man and held him over her head.

With a grunt, she threw him into the road and watched as the tarmac was up turned by the man's dense body.

Lois watched with horror as Superman climbed to his feet and stared at the twins with a grimace.

"Don't make me hurt you," Superman growled, warningly.

"You can't hurt us," the woman scoffed.

"But we can hurt you," the man continued.

"Are you going to bet your suspenders on that?" Superman said, balling his hands into fists.

Suddenly red beams poured out his eyes and he made some sort of primeval cry as they sliced through the air and struck the twins. They were ploughed off their feet and smacked into the ground.

Superman shook his head as he cut off the beams, Lois could tell from the balcony that he struggled to control the mighty beams. Lois stared at the man in awe, her heart fluttering in her chest.

Superman could hear something above, turned his head to see a beautiful woman watching him from the balcony of a hotel. Her long flowing black hair was dark like the night sky and her deep blue eyes were the stars. She was at least 5ft 5" and wore a blouse, blazer and short shirt. From the ground he could smell her perfume and he couldn't help but stare at her radiant beauty.

Their eyes locked and the two stared at each other with a deep longing.

"Look out!" screamed the woman.

He'd been so focused on her that he hadn't been looking or listening at the world around him. Tommy Terror slugged the man from Krypton in the face while his sister kicked his feet from underneath him. The two twins raised their feet and stamped on Superman, over and over again.

Superman groaned with every super powered strike, he couldn't get up, all he could do was take the hits and come back stronger.

"Stop!" Lois screamed. "You're hurting him!"

The two twins stopped and turned around to stare at Lois. They didn't even need to speak. They knew they couldn't beat this 'Superman', the only thing they could do was run.

Tommy bent his powerful knees and jumped into the air. He dipped and touched down hard on the balcony, making it crack slightly. He grabbed the woman round the waist, gripping her so that she couldn't escape but not kill her, and lifted her over his shoulder. He then jumped down back onto the pavement, just as Tuppence stomped on Superman's face one more time.

"Don't follow us or we'll kill her!" Tommy barked over Lois screaming and protests.

The two twins turned round and bounced off on their powerful legs like they were on space hoppers. They bounded across the streets of Gotham, crushing deserted cars and anything underfoot.

Superman sat up as quick as he could, feeling slightly tired.

_I need to get under the sun_, he thought to himself. _But not while that woman is their captive. I have to save her._

He bent his knees and hovered off the ground. He felt the tug in his gut as he jetted off across the ground. The world became a blur as he picked up more and more speed.

When he flew, he felt free. At first he found it easy to fly but as he learnt he could go faster and faster it became less natural and more of a test, just to see how far he could go. But nothing was quite like the sensation of defying gravity, yet it was another sign that he was different from the humans.

He could see the two twins up ahead and pushed a little harder, with his enhanced eye sight he could see the woman being battered around by the force of Tommy's jump.

This made him angry which, with his strength, he needed to keep in check. He got closer and closer, he sucked in and then blew as hard as he could.

He expected them to be knocked over but ice began to form. Suddenly the lower bodies of the twins turned into blocks of ice and they hit the ground.

Before they could escape, Superman moved at super speed and freed the woman from Tommy's grasp. He away and placed the woman down, who wasn't really sure what happened as the alien moved so fast.

The Kryptonian turned back around to see the twins escaping the ice that enclosed them. It shattered with a loud bang and shards of frozen water flew across the street which they stood on, one piece shattered a glass window nearby with its momentum.

"Leave her alone!" Superman snarled.

"I told you to back off," Tommy snarled.

"And I told you no way," Superman retorted. "And now you've made me mad!"

Before the twins could make another remark, Superman became a blur of colour. He ran straight Tommy and punched him repeatedly in the face; he swore he could hear at least a slow motion groan. With a final punch, he moved onto Tuppence. He punched her in the stomach and chopped her hard on the neck.

He watched as they fell in slow motion and when they were at the right height; he kicked them both in the head, the twins bashing heads; _hard_.

He ran back to the woman in the jacket and slowed down. He turned to see the two twins fall to the ground, nearly unconscious.

Without thinking, Superman reached to the ear piece, "Where's the nearest prison from here?"

"About ten miles west," Bruce's voice said through the miniature speaker. "Should take you a minute if you go fast enough."

"Okay," Superman said wearily, shutting off the ear piece. He turned to the beautiful woman who still staring at him. "One moment, I have to get these two to the proper authorities."

Superman plucked them off the ground by their waistbands and sped off into the distance.

"What's the point, you're more effective than them anyway," muttered Lois under her breath.

Superman returned in a flash, looking slightly weary, he appeared right in front of her with a smile.

"Are you okay?" he asked, flashing his dazzling white teeth.

Lois stared for a moment, stammered and said, "Ye-ye-yes I'm fine thanks."

"Good," he smiled again. "I was worried that the jumps would have harmed you but I can't see any wounds on you."

"See any wounds?" she asked. "What about internal wounds?"

"I have X-Ray vision," he explained. "I can see that you're fine though."

"What can't you do?" she asked with a flirtatious smile.

"Well I can't read minds," he joked. "But then with you I don't think that'll be a problem."

The two smiled at each other, Superman trying to keep himself on the ground; happiness clearly gave him a tendency to fly away.

"Anyway I should get you back to the hotel," he said, slicing through the silence.

Without saying anything else, he picked her up and leapt into the air, trying to slow down because she wasn't used to the sensation of flight like she was. He tried to keep his mind on the journey ahead but he couldn't help but hear her elevated heartbeat and sense her body warmth up close to him. He could tell she was looking at him.

Lois couldn't help but look at the tall, supernatural, muscular man that held her in his arms and lifted her across the sky. She'd only ever been obsessed with one man this much, but he turned out to be a completely jerk and she left him behind but this man...he was something else.

They made their way through the dark Gotham streets. Men, woman and children all looked up to see a man flying through the sky with a woman in his arms. Camera phones went off and suddenly hundreds of images were uploaded to the internet.

Superman, a flying super man with super strength, was nothing new but the woman was something very intriguing. Did this god like urban myth, which was slowly becoming more real, have a female companion?

The two of them touched down onto the balcony of Lois' hotel room. He placed her on the ground and stepped back.

"Thanks for the lift," Lois replied with a smile.

"It was my pleasure," he replied. "Before I go and repair the massive hole in the road, may I ask your name?"

"Lois," she stammered. "Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet."

_Daily Planet_, he thought with a smile. _Isn't that the paper Bruce was going to get me a job at?_

"Well it's been great to meet you Miss Lane." Superman stepped back off the balcony and slowly ascended to the ground, not taking his eyes off the woman.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, he ran at super speed. He collected all the rubble, being careful not to break it with his awesome strength, and then laid it down in the carter in the road and the rest of the broken off rubble around it.

Using his heat vision, he melted all the pieces back together and then blew onto them; though not hard enough to form ice but to cool it down.

Still moving as a blur, he turned to the multiple broken shop windows and moved them back into place, using his heat vision to seal them together, though he struggled to keep it precise while moving as fast as he could.

Once he'd repaired the whole street, he slowed down and admired his handiwork. The whole street looked like it hadn't hosted a super hero brawl at all. He turned back to the balcony to see the woman still looking at him.

He smiled at her, gave her cheeky wink and turned off into the sky. In a blur he was gone and Lois was left admiring the ground where he had once stood.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

That was Issue 17 guys. It was probably the longest so far and I honestly liked writing Superman but sadly this is The Mantle of the Dark Knight, which means that I will have to focus on Ryan and Bruce. As some may have guess this is more of a send of story for the Man of Tomorrow, indicating that his time at Wayne Manor is up and Ryan is once again to take center stage. As always, thanks for reading and a review would be great.


	18. MDK ISSUE 18

**ISSUE 18:**

Ryan sat in the back of the long black Wayne family limousine. Kal-El and Bruce sat opposite him at a table, clearly discussing something important, Alfred couldn't drive anymore so they had a new chauffeur called Damien, who was an excellent driver and bodyguard, with amazing fighting credentials, but he was quite insulting and brash; so no one spoke to him.

Ryan felt quite alone as poured himself out a small glass of champagne. Since they'd rescued the alien, Bruce had decided to spend any free time he had on him; setting up his new life, working out his powers and training him so that he could stand on his own, although the two of them had very different ways of dishing out justice with Bruce preferring fear tactics while Clark preferred hope and light which his powers hopefully inspired in people.

But he was fine with that, he could now go out and take down gang after thug after gang which he had no problem with at all. Finally he had some independence but he still missed having his mentor correct him on minor things like the way he held the 'batarang' or how he threw down the smoke pellet.

Yet tonight would sort that out, they had just taken one of Bruce's numerous private jets from Gotham to Metropolis; where they would first be attending an event for which Clark could get a job at the Daily Planet, then he would be attending a business meeting with Bruce at the formidable Lex Corp and then they would be having an 'after hours' meeting at Lex Crop as the Bat and Nightwing.

When Clark said he was leaving, Ryan felt slightly sad that his new friend was going but now he couldn't wait. He would finally be the centre of attention, which sounded selfish but since he'd arrived Clark had taken centre stage with his perfect face and body and his ground shattering super powers, and now he could be trained to his fullest and one day be on par with the alien from another world who got his powers from the Earth's sun.

Ryan slurped down the drink and watched as Bruce handed over a large leather folder to Clark. Clark then got up from the table and slid onto the couch at the back next to Ryan with a grin on his face.

"Why do you look so happy?" Ryan asked, pouring himself another drink.

"Because it's actually happening," Clark replied with a grin. "Bruce has created a whole life for me, apparently I'm a shoe in for the job and I already know someone there!"

"Who?" Ryan asked, shocked.

"Lois Lane," he said with a smile. "She's a reporter at the Planet and apparently I might get to work with her!"

"But Clark Kent's never met anyone before," Ryan suddenly realised. "You met her as Superman didn't you."

"Yeah."

"Then she won't like Clark Kent then will she," Ryan said, crushing Clark's smile. "Clark Kent has to be nerdy, clumsy, the opposite of the god-like Superman. So she won't see you the same way."

"You don't know that," Clark replied, trying to keep up his own belief.

"I kinda do buddy," Ryan said with a smile. "But don't worry I'm sure you'll find someone out there who likes Superman and Clark Kent."

Clark didn't reply, he just reached for the champagne bottle and poured himself a drink; though it was pointless, he couldn't get drunk unless he drunk a lake's worth.

The two sat in silence the rest of the way, Ryan half wishing he hadn't crushed Kal's dream of being with this 'Lois'.

The Daily Planet had definitely done well on this event. Hiring out a massive hall made of marble with large columns and glass windows and domes above. People sat around on the white cloth covered tables or stood at the well stocked bar or danced and chatted on the main dance floor.

Calm music played as the main, large oak, double doors opened and three large, toned, handsome men entered. Bruce Wayne, dressed in a sharp black tuxedo strutted in; followed by his right hand man Ryan Connolly, who since he'd quit the Police had become known as Rick Gray, and on the other side was the large, muscular, spectacle covered Clark Kent.

People looked around to see the sharply dressed newcomers and then back to their business.

"Bruce!" shouted a warm voice from the crowd. Suddenly a man with grey strands in his styled black hair stepped out from the huddle, with one hand he smoothed out his expensive looking tux while holding a drink in the other.

"Perry," Bruce smiled back, losing his cold edge and adopting a warmer; more social, attitude.

The two shook hands warmly and smiled at each other.

"So how you been?" Perry enquired.

"Fine," Bruce replied. "Great even, the companies doing great and I'm living it up."

"Typical Bruce, life and soul of the party."

Ryan could tell that Clark was frowning behind him. He had only met the Bat side of Bruce, not the alter ego that he adopted in public. When he was younger, Bruce was known for being an arrogant playboy who threw wild parties every night; though in his older years he had slowed down but still attended social events.

"And how's the paper been?" Bruce asked the smiling gentleman.

"Good, though we are having to slowly integrate onto the internet but I've fought hard to keep the paper a paper and hope it'll stay that way till I'm dead and buried."

"I'm sure it will," Bruce replied warmly. "But I really wanted to talk to you about the job you had spare in the Investigative reporting department. And I have a man that you're going to want to meet."

Clark stepped forward with a big smile on his face. Perry looked him up a down, the suit did hide most of Clark's overly muscular body, so Perry wouldn't make the connection between him and the god on Earth.

"I dunno Bruce."

"You haven't seen him at work yet," Bruce replied with a smile. "And if not then you owe it to me, as a favour."

"Fine, fine," Perry sighed. "What's your name kid?"

"Kent sir," Kal-El smiled, already adopting his goofy alter-ego. "Clark Kent."

"Well Kent, I'll see tomorrow in my office, 9am sharp."

"Great," Clark smiled at him. "You won't regret it sir."

"I hope I won't," Perry replied. He brushed Bruce and muttered, "You owe me." Clark smirked as he listened in with his enhanced hearing.

"Well anyway," Perry smiled at them all. "Enjoy the party and don't brake anything."

The trio and Perry turned to part when the Editor in Chief of the paper shouted, "Kent come with me a second."

"Sure sir," Clark shouted back, turning away from Bruce and Ryan. "See you two in a bit."

"Yeah see ya," Ryan replied, patting Clark on the back.

Ryan followed Bruce to the bar as Clark walked off with is brand new boss. "So what now?" Ryan asked his mentor.

"We mingle," Bruce replied, reaching to the bar and grabbing them a drink each. He handed one to Ryan and the two walked off into the crowd of people.

Lois hated these sort of events, people got too drunk and then got a bit too touchy. She pushed her long black hair behind her ear and made her way through the crowd in a form fitting black strapless dress topped off with high heels and a clutch purse.

"Hey Lois!" a familiar voice shouted from behind him.

She turned around to see her Boss, Perry White, flanked by a tall, broad shouldered, man in a tight fitting tuxedo and circular spectacles.

"Yes Chief."

"Don't call me Chief," Perry snapped. "I wanna introduce you to the new reporter we hired. Lois this is Clark Kent, Clark Kent; Lois Lane."

Clark stared at her at first, she looked absolutely perfect and he felt mesmerised by her.

She held out her hand. Clark slowly looked down and laughed. "I'm sorry." He shook her hand, being careful of his grip, and smiled. "It'll be a pleasure working with you."

"Oh we'll see, "she retorted with a smile.

"Well I'll leave you two to talk," Perry said, swaggering off.

As soon as Perry was gone she dropped her smile. "Look Kent, I'm not being rude but the front page is my area and I'm the top writer here so if you wouldn't step on my toes that would be great."

Clark frowned. He had met a flirty, fun, and happy Lois Lane but now he was seeing a more vicious, ruthless side with her.

"Of course, I just want to work at the paper and-"

"Just don't get in my way," Lois snapped, turning around and strutting away. Clark couldn't help but stare and yet he still felt crushed. This woman who he thought had liked him was actually a bit of a power mad bitch.

As soon as she was in the crowd, Clark heard a strange sound from outside and then the sound of someone scratching on the glass above. He looked up with his X-Ray vision, moving his glasses down his nose, and saw that men were all across the rooftop and they were breaking in!

_Time for action_, he smiled, walking off into the men's toilet, tearing open his pristine white shirt; luckily not pulling off the buttons.

Bruce and Ryan moved through the ball, laughing and mingling between possible clients. Bruce looked up to see something move at the dome above. He grabbed Ryan by the wrist and pulled him in close.

"You did bring your wrist compact costume?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes," Ryan said, Bruce letting go of him. "Why?"

Bruce motioned above them. "You're going to need it."

Ryan looked up to see men slowly opening up the multiple glass domes above them, they were breaking in!

The two walked off towards the men's toilets, both of them producing two metal bracelets from their suit jacket pockets.

The party continued on, people danced and laughed together. Suddenly glass erupted above them and people suddenly began to lower themselves down on ropes. People screamed and moved to the sides of the room. Suddenly a large fat man floated down on what looked like an umbrella.

He folded up the umbrella object and stared at the crowd, showing his disfigured face. He had a long nose and what looked like three fingers hidden in pristine white gloves. He wore a top hat and a tuxedo which barely fit over his large stomach.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I am the Penguin and I will be relieving you of your cash tonight!" he sneered in a nasal voice.

People were frozen still.

"Hurry up you idiots!" he shouted to his mask goons who came with him. "Take their cash!"

"That's not going to happen!" shouted a voice from above. The whole crowd looked up to see Superman, the super powered alien, flying down towards the centre of the room. His boots touched the ground and all eyes were on his alien blue and red suit.

"Who are you?" sneered the Penguin.

"I'm Superman," he replied. "And I'm here to stop you."

Before the Penguin could make a remark, metal objects flew out of nowhere and struck three of the goons in the chest, knocking them to the ground. There was a loud whooshing sound and Nightwing, dressed in a completely metal suit with black plating and a bright blue bird across his chest and down his arms, swung on a grapple hook down next to Kal-El.

"Who's that?" people murmured across the crowd.

"Who are you?" the Penguin sneered.

"I'm Nightwing but now's not the time to chat," he smiled. He flicked his wrists and his two batons landed in his palms.

Then a large shadow fell across the ball room and everyone looked up to see the Bat standing over the dome.

"Who the hell is that?" The Penguin sneered again.

The Bat extended his cape and jumped down from the down, he fell through the air and kicked the Penguin in the face. His metallic boots hit the marble flooring and the metal plates flexed all over his body so that he could move with ease.

"No time to talk," he grunted.

That was the signal for all the heroes to move out. Nightwing produced batarangs and threw them at a couple of goons running towards him. Superman clenched his hands into fists and punched one in the chest, being careful not to break any moneys. The Bat grabbed The Penguin by the collar and held him aloft.

"What do you want?" he growled as chaos erupted around him.

"Money," The Penguin sneered. "Isn't that what everyone wants?"

"No," the Bat retorted. He reeled back his fist and punched the Penguin in the throat and dropped him to the floor. The Penguin sat on the ground rasping for air as the Bat Monster turned to the crowd to see that his two protégés had taken down the goons.

Superman twisted his head and stared out into the street. "Hey Bat, we have a problem."

Superman ran at super speed towards the windows and the Bat and Nightwing followed. They looked through the large glass panes and saw what was going on outside in Metropolis. Slowly, six oversized toy-like robots were powering down their rocket jets and landing on the ground.

The Bat analysed the robots with cold eyes. "This is the Toy Man's work, though he hasn't done anything on this scale before. Superman, you take the robots. Nightwing follow him and find a computer in the wreckage, then trace it's signal back to the source."

"What about you?" Nightwing asked, setting his gauntlets to grapple hook.

"I'm going to have a chat with the Penguin," the Bat replied in his growling voice. "All this happening on one night can't be a coincidence."

"Okay," Superman replied, his eyes glowing red slightly. He bent his knees and flew into the air like a blur. Nightwing aimed his grapple at the open top of the building and fired it; being pulled off into the air.

The Bat turned around to see the Penguin picking up his hat and umbrella and trying to climb to his feet. He strutted over, his cape lapping behind his heels, and flipped him over onto his back with his foot.

"Who is your commander?" he growled, leaning down close to the man's fat face.

"What?" he trembled, looking into the Bat's plain white eyes.

"Someone has coordinated you to attack this hall while Toy Man attacks the city," the Bat barked. "Who coordinated you and are there going to be any more attacks?"

"The...the Light," the Penguin stuttered.

"The Light?"

"They are everywhere and they own everyone," the Penguin said, clearly terrified. "They'll kill me for telling you."

"Are there going to be any more attacks?" The Penguin was quiet for a second longer than he needed. The Bat slammed his head into the marble. "Answer me!"

"They've only told me that Toy Man and Black Mask were coming down," the Penguin sneered, his vision starting to blur. "But I heard someone else was coming."

"Who?"

"Cad-Cad-Cadmus," he stuttered, his head aching.

The Bat let go of the dazed man and climbed to his feet, his cape completely enveloping his metal armour. He'd read one of the files relating to that name on the server connected to the Commissioner's computer. And all he could think of how fucked they were.

A robot fell to the ground with a loud crunch, luckily only hitting the deserted road and not the buildings. Kal-El zipped above the skyline and checked on the ground below to see that Nightwing was unharmed as he made his way through the rubble; towards the main processor of the gigantic robot. As soon as he was sure Nightwing was safe, he turned to another robot which was walking down the street, knocking down a whole building.

He powered up his heat vision and shot a powerful beam of coursing red energy at the robot's chest. It burnt through the metal and came out the other side. The robot collapsed but Superman flew underneath it so that it didn't crush the bystanders that were running from the chaos. He grunted and pushed the now dead robot and pushed it onto it's back, not crushing any person underneath.

He spun to another robot and clenched his fists, ready to punch the next automaton's head in.

Nightwing instantly found the core processor in the wreckage and instantly took the USB Plug in cable on his utility belt and plugged himself into the computer. The defences on the suit's computer were at the top level of protection in the world so he wasn't worried about getting a virus from the device.

He hoped the device still had some slight power left and was still connected to the signal as he rapidly hacked his way into the system with precision. He kept typing out reams of code as the signal began to grow fainter and fainter.

He cracked the last ream of coding and finally located the source of the control signal. He was controlling them from the top of the Daily Planet.

He pressed the temple of his domino mask. "Hey Supes, top of the Daily Planet building."

"Who are you?" asked a female voice from behind the Bat.

He turned around to see Lois Lane, reporter from the Daily Planet, standing behind him holding a compact video camera. The Bat produced a small bat shaped device and threw it, it landed on the camera with dead accuracy and with a motion of the hand, the camera shut off.

"Hey what the hell?" she barked.

"No press," the Bat growled, brushing past her and towards the window.

"Are you friends with Superman?" she asked.

"Acquaintances," the Bat replied, watching along the skyline to see another robot fall.

"Fine, who are you?" she asked as the Bat turned from the window and stood underneath the open glass dome.

"The Bat," he growled as he held up his arm and fired his grapple hook into the air. The device pulled him into the air and Lois watched until he disappeared. She then turned to the window and looked down just as Black Mask's army made their way down the street of Gotham killing who they wanted and braking whatever they wanted.

"This is a war zone," she murmured.

Superman deactivated the ear piece and turned to the Daily Planet. With his heightened vision, he looked to the roof top of the Daily Planet and saw a small man wearing a creepy plastic head, standing on the rooftop holding a tablet like device.

He felt a tug in his stomach and he zipped towards the man. On his way he knocked one robot back and punched another in the head. He banked left and got out of the way of one robots fists and kept heading towards the Planet. Clearly their controller was trying to protect himself but no mere robot could stand up to his might.

A robot stepped in front of the building and Superman pushed out his arms. He kept moving and ploughed straight through the robot's body with ease. The robot fell straight down and Kal-El touched down on the building.

"Please don't hurt me!" squealed the small man, with a child like voice, from inside his plastic head.

Superman picked him up and tore the tablet out of his hand. He crushed it with ease.

"No my toys!" he screamed. "Fix it! Fix it!"

Superman sighed with pity and punched the midget's plastic head in with a single blow. He dropped the now blinded psychopath and turned to see Nightwing touching down on top of the Planet's roof with the aid of his wings and pulse technology in his boots.

Nightwing activated the communicator in his mask. "Bat, we've taken down the Toy Man but an army is gathering in the streets."

"That's not the worst of it," the Bat replied as Superman activated his ear piece and stood with Nightwing on the edge of the building; looking down to see the mob moving down the streets lead by a man with a completely black head. "They've got someone else coming and he's not something _we_ can handle."

"What?" Superman asked, narrowing his vision on the man with the black face.

"Black Mask has amassed an army of men on the streets to cause chaos and they also have a secret weapon coming," the Bat paused. "Basically, he's a teenage clone of you Kal-El."

"What?" Superman uttered, completely shocked.

"They took a sample of your DNA, cloned it and then brainwashed the clone to be under their complete control. He doesn't have some of your powers but he is still highly dangerous and will put up quite a fight with you."

"Oh fuck," Nightwing muttered.

"And I also have a feeling that someone else will make a guest appearance."

"Who?" Nightwing asked him.

"Every hero has a villain who can battle him," the Bat told the two of them. "And you might meet mine. But as I said, just a hunch."

"Let's hope so," Nightwing smiled weakly. "Because if he can keep up with you then I'm worried."

"You should be," the Bat replied bluntly.

Superman looked across to see the Bat soaring through the night sky, using the cape as a pair of wings.

"Now, me and Nightwing can handle the army for now but I'd like you to keep an aerial watch until Project Cadmus or Superboy they've jokily named him, arrives. Focus on him completely and don't let anything distract from taking him down; do whatever it takes."

"Okay," Superman said shakily. He'd never faced anyone as powerful as him before and that scared him for the first time.

"Nightwing get down here and we'll make our way through these chumps," the Bat told him through the ear piece. "But be prepared to go solo if my counterpart appears."

"Okay," Nightwing extending his wings. He then turned to his friend, Superman, with a broad smile. "I'll see you when we're done here."

"Sure will," Superman smiled, unsure on the outcome of their current battle.

Nightwing bent his legs and flew downwards towards the mob of men to join his mentor in battle. Superman stood on the roof, trying to calm his breathing, this would be his most dangerous battle so far. He didn't know the outcome but he could tell they weren't going to come out of this unscathed.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Issue 18 and I'm honestly proud of it. I have left this on a cliff hanger as it was getting long and I decided it would be more dramatic if I had the end of the battle in a chapter of it's own. So that was fun and the nerdiest of you will know who Bat's opponent is and who is Superman's upcoming one. I hope people aren't that bothered about the change in Lois Lane but fuck it; it's my universe. I did have this battle planned later on but I thought that this was the right time to break out with the best I have. We see Clark leave and another story arc will begin.

I hope you guys liked it and if you could review it that would be great. Also if you're wondering why Bruce is the Bat and not Batman, don't worry you'll find out soon enough.


	19. MDK ISSUE 19

**ISSUE 19:**

Lex Luthor sat on his private jet which had left Metropolis and was heading for an island in the Caribbean which he privately owned. The jet was lavish, retrofitted with leather walls, plush carpets and hard wood surfaces. He sat in his plush arm chair with a tablet resting on the armrest.

He watched from different cameras as Metropolis was torn apart and only three men were willing to save it. The Bat, a monster of the night, a small little man who some called a shadow and the Superman, an alien from another world, who some called a god on earth; to save it.

He did laugh at their efforts although Superman seemed to be preoccupied on the top of the Daily Planet.

_He's waiting_, Luthor thought with a smile.

He looked across to another chair to see a boy sitting across from him with glowing red eyes. "Son, how about you go and have some fun in Metropolis."

"Oh Dad it would be my pleasure," smiled back the boy, rising from his chair; revealing his muscular body under a form fitting black all in one skin tight suit with a red 'S' insignia on his chest. His eyes glowed red as he ran to the door of the jet, opened it and jumped out. One of the flight attendants closed it as she brought Lex a small whiskey.

"Thank you darling," he smiled, taking the drink and sipping the warm liquid.

_This is going to be a show and half_. _But first I have to call in Mr J_.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay so I lied. I thought that I could have one extra chapter in there so we have a climatic battle in Metropolis in Issue 20, which I thought was a better number than 19. So yeah, Luthor has a hand in this and now we can finally see the battle in the next issue which will set a whole new pace for the series.

Review, Follow and a Favourite is appreciated and if you want to collab with me on this story about your favourite unseen character then hit me up on the PM. See you Next Issue :)


	20. MDK ISSUE 20

**ISSUE 20:**

The Bat stood in the centre of the road and Black Masks' army stopped. Black Mask, a gangster and criminal, stood at the front of the group with a grin on his face. Nightwing folded up his wings and landed next to his mentor in front of the gigantic army.

"It's the legendary Bat," grinned Black Mask. "The one we were warned about."

"Turn around and leave," the Bat growled at them.

"Or what?" Black Mask retorted

As a reply, Nightwing produced his batons and electrified them while the Bat extended his forearm blades and adopted a short karate fighting stance.

"Get 'em lads!" Black Mask ordered, stepping back.

The army flowed out onto them and the two were perfectly ready to take them out; one by one.

Superman heard the sound of a sonic boom on his right, he spun round to be punched in the chest by a rock hard fist and knocked into the building nearby. He crashed through the glass window and tipped over multiple desks.

He rose to his feet and looked out to see his opponent hovering in the sky ahead, his eyes glowing bright scarlet.

Superman rose off the ground and flew out of the building and hovered in front of the boy, who wore a black full body skin tight suit and his Superman's family crest of an 's' inside a triangle on his chest.

"You don't have to do this," Superman reasoned.

"Yes I do," the boy smirked. "My dad told me to."

Superboy kicked off the air and smacked into Superman's chest, knocking him through the building and out the other side. The two soared through the air and ploughed through a second building.

Superman grunted, grabbed the boy by the shoulders and tossed him like a discuss. Superboy soared and smacked into one building after another after another before stopping himself by kicking against the air.

"I know you can hear me," Superman told Superboy from a distance. "So just listen to me, I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to."

Superboy screamed as he flew straight at Kal-El with his fist outstretched. Superman dodged the attack, grabbed the clone of him by the elbow and used it to tossed him towards the ground.

"We are family," Superman said as Superboy hurtled to the tarmac below. "We can be together, me and you and we can leave all this behind us. You're my only family I have, please don't make me hurt you."

Superboy rose from the smoking crater enraged. "Why won't you just fight me!"

Superboy flew into the air, dust building up behind him. Superman sighed, clenched his hand into a fist and flew down towards his clone; completely distraught that he would have to hurt the closest thing he had to a relative on this planet.

The Bat grappled one man and flung him into the three other men behind him. Nightwing struck one man after the other, electrifying them all. He created a staff and spun it around, knocking over one man with one swing.

The ground shook and Nightwing tried to not look round. He knew that Kal-El was fighting his clone developed by this still unknown organisation. As he clobbered another with his bo staff, he reflected on the fact that his clone could in fact kill the impossible alien; and this army could kill him and Bruce.

He kept powering on, trying not to think about his possible pending doom. But at least if he died, he could die in Metropolis; one of the nicest cities in the world, even if it was being torn to pieces by two aliens and a massive mob of men who just seem to keep on coming.

Black Mask had grown tired of watching his men be beaten at the hands of the costumed freaks. He produced a long katana which he had strapped to the back of his grey suit. He swung it about and approached the Bat who flipped over another one of his men and stamped on his stomach.

He brought down the sword, which the Bat blocked with his armour plated forearms and brought it down to the ground. The Bat struck Black Mask in the face which made the criminal stumble back, dropping the blade. He grinned, hoping that the men would focus on the strange Nightwing and he could then take down the Bat.

Black Mask produced his two silver revolvers. He spun them around on his fingers and then fired shots at the Bat. A bullet struck his armour plating but bounced off, the Bat then began to move faster. He side stepped another bullet, dodged a third and uppercutted Black Mask.

Nightwing spun his bo staff, he was slowly beginning to feel tired after constantly fighting one goon after another. How did Black Mask find so many?

Superman and Superboy's fists collided and the shockwaves shook the glass from the buildings around them. The two of them shot off, Superboy back to the ground and Superman into the sky.

Before he reached the upper stratosphere, Superman stopped himself and flew back towards the ground. His eyes darted around and switched to X-Ray, in search of Superboy, he then saw him; lifting a car above his head and getting ready to throw it.

The car whizzed through the air and Superman flew down to meet it. He gripped it by the front, getting knocked back slightly, and slowly flew towards the ground. His red boots touched the ground with the grace of ballet dancer and Kal-El placed the car back onto the ground carefully.

Superboy moved round the building, grunting with effort. He was clearly tired now after fight Kal-El, clearly Superman was more trained and had absorbed more sun light meaning he had longer durability.

Superman took this as an advantage and ran at super speed towards Superboy; raising his fist. He punched Superboy straight in the chest, sending him flying straight through a Metropolis shop window and into the back wall of the small boutique; this made Superman pray that the shop had insurance.

As he watched as Superboy rose to his feet inside the shop, he began to reflect on his powers. With the Bat he could try his hardest in combat and not destroy whole buildings but with his strength he could destroy whole shopping complexes by accident. He needed to be more careful but right now he needed to take out this brainwashed copy of himself; if he didn't stop him he could destroy the whole planet.

He noticed that Superboy was hissing, he was running out of juice; if he kept taking hits like that then he would be dead soon.

"You're going to hurt yourself," Superman told the boy who was slowly approaching him. "Please stop this and help me rebuild the destroyed city around us."

"I'm never going to stop," Superboy told him, edging his way closer and closer up to Kal-El. "I am the clone of you and of Lex Luthor, from you I have Kryptonian powers and from him I have my intellect and natural air of chaos."

Superboy grabbed Superman by the suit and hoisted him into the air. "I must live and you must die, only I can be the _Superman_."

Superman immediately pushed himself into the air and then drove himself down to the ground; taking his clone with him. The clone wasn't going to stop but could he bring himself to kill it.

The Bat dodged an empty pistol jab from Black Mask and followed it by kicking the gangster in the stomach with his metal boot. He brought his fists down like a hammer onto the man's back, knocking him to the ground.

Nightwing began to slowly see an end to the long mass of men, though he began to feel more and more tired with every stroke. When he signed up to this hero gig he never believed it could be this tiring...or scary.

The Bat took a moment from fighting Black Mask, who was now flat on the floor, and began to battle the army of thugs who were going straight for his partner.

The Bat and Nightwing fought together with precision and coordination; they had trained together for situations like this but never expected to use them. The Bat moved around slugging thugs in the upper body while Nightwing swung his electrified bo staff at their legs.

The Bat jumped into the air and kicked another goon in the head as Nightwing smacked one thug, kicked a second in the groin and elbowed a third in the nose; crunching the bone and cartilage with his metal plated joint.

Black Mask got to his feet, clearly slightly shaky after the battering from the master combatant. He looked around to see that his men were being cut down like weeds, there were barely twenty left. While the Bat was distracted, he plucked up his katana and swung it out. He grunted and ran straight for the Bat who seemed to have a six sense.

The Bat roundhouse kicked Black Mask in the stomach and followed it up with a bone crunching punch to the nose. Black Mask staggered back as he once again resumed a fight with the creature of the night.

Nightwing began to feel the strain as he swung his staff again. One of the goons managed to land a punch in Nightwing's protected stomach. He felt the strike slightly, though the man's fist ached, so he returned the favour by punching the man back in the stomach; he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

_I'm too tired for this,_ he thought to himself with a groan. He reached into his utility belt and produced multiple batarangs. He back flipped from the men who were still surrounding him and took an aim.

He flicked out his wrist and threw the sharp blades at the men. The Metallic weapons stuck into six of the men's bodies, not in fatal areas; the pain of the deep inflictions made them limp away or fall down to the ground.

There were five left. He had taken down a whole army, surely he could sort out these guys.

The Kryptonian and Half Human Half Alien Clone hit the ground, shaking the whole city. They created a whole new smoking crater in the street, Kal-El rolled off Superboy and took a deep breath before getting to his feet.

Superboy groaned, rolled over and coughed up a glob of congealing blood onto the smoky ground. He sat up and glared at his part father.

"Please don't make me hurt you anymore," Superman pleaded. Superboy rose to his feet, grunting and ran straight at him with a clenched fist.

Superman waited until he was close enough and then kicked him to the ground.

"I'm trying to give you a chance here," Superman told him.

"I-I can't," he mumbled, his eyes changing from bright red to normal; he had clear blue eyes.

"Yes you can," Superman said sympathetically, crouching down to his level.

"No, they've made sure I can't," Superboy told him. "You-You-You have to kill me."

"I-I can't," Superman told him, looking at the now crying teenager.

"Please before I get up and do something stupid," he told Kal-El. "I need you to kill me!"

Superman stared at his partial clone. Could he do it? Could he take a life of another? Particularly one that was so close to him? Could Kal-El the last son of Krypton kill his 'sort of' son? The closest thing he had to family...

"Please," the boy sobbed.

Superman began to cry as he reached out and placed his hand either side of the boy's head. With his depleted sun energy, if Superman snapped his neck; the boy would die. Tears welled up and poured down his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he snivelled as he spun Superboy's around on its joint and then back to its right place.

Superboy died in an instant and Superman collected up the dead corpse and hugged it tight, tears pouring from his alien tear ducts as he wept into the deceased body of the only family he had left on the planet.

He then screamed terrifyingly loudly. "**_NO!_**"

Nightwing stared at his last five opponents. He flashed them a toothy grin before separating his staff and sliding the batons into their compartments within his dark navy gauntlets. He adopted a short fighting stance and motioned with his hand for the men to come at him.

The Bat held up his armoured forearms, blocking all the right and left hooks Black Mask kept swinging his way as his revolvers were out of bullets and his katana lay on the floor.

"**_NO!_**" came a loud scream which practically filled the whole destroyed city.

Everyone spun around to hear the loud scream of Kal-El.

_Oh fuck_, Nightwing thought as he walked towards his final opponents. _He's killed him_, he deduced. _This isn't going to be good_.

He battered another opponent and turned to see the red missile that was Superman, flying down the street straight towards Black Mask. As the Bat swung a punch, Superman pushed him away and flew off into the sky, making the Bat slug the air.

Nightwing high kicked and elbowed the final goon, his breath jagged. He then looked up to see Superman floating in the air holding Black Mask by his pristine suit shirt.

"Where is he?" he screamed in the man's face.

"Who?" Black Mask asked, scared out of his mind by the Kryptonian; he looked down at the ground and then stared straight at Superman in an attempt to block out the fact that they were at least 60ft off the ground.

"Luthor!" Superman snarled. "Where is your leader Lex Luthor?"

"He's on his jet," Black Mask whimpered. "Leaving to some Island. Now could you please put me down?"

"My pleasure," he snapped. He dropped Black Mask and disappeared like a blur. The Bat and Nightwing ran out and got ready to catch the falling gangster.

"Where's he going?" Nightwing asked as they caught Black Mask and dropped him onto his face.

"He's going after Luthor," the Bat told him, producing a pair of Bat shaped handcuffs from his utility belt. "Luthor created the clone of him, part Kryptonian and part Human, and brainwashed him so that he couldn't stop wanting to kill Superman as long as he had a sustainable amount of the sun's light energy stored in him. The only option was to kill him before he absorbed enough from the moon and wreaked even more havoc."

"So he's gone to get Luthor," Nightwing sighed as the Bat fastened Black Mask's hands behind his back.

"And we can't stop him," the Bat told him. "We're just going to have to hope that he doesn't do anything too stupid."

They stepped back to see the dazed Black Mask laying on the ground in terror.

"Get down!" the Bat shouted, diving to the side. Nightwing dived and spun around in mid-air to see a massive RPG Missile flying towards them. The explosive hit the ground and tore up the tarmac underneath it.

"What the fuck!" shouted Nightwing, clambering to his feet. The Bat stood up, his cape enveloping his body, and zoomed the lenses in his cowl up to the top of one of the buildings.

"The Joker!" he growled.

A cackling laugh tore through the city and Nightwing realised that this was the Bat's counterpart which he had spoken of and for once he was absolutely terrified.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay so that was Issue 20 and some parts may seem controversial, particularly the death of Superboy; but he may come back...Anyway I split it again as it was getting a bit long so I thought I could have second part after Superman goes off for Luthor and the Dynamic Duo go off to fight Mr J (you can guess who it is) I think you'll like what's coming up so stay tuned for the Next Issue in the gigantic battle and please leave a review because I have none yet guys (angry face)


	21. MDK ISSUE 21

**ISSUE 21:**

Superman's rage pushed him faster than ever before as he tore up the sky with his hands by his sides; his cape flapping behind him. Tears streamed down his face and flew off into the sky where they instantly froze.

He felt a fire build up inside him as he watched a sleek private jet moving across the sky, a mile up ahead. He tried to not waste energy by letting his eyes go scarlet red as he rocketed towards the private jet which was completely unsuspecting his arrival.

Lex Luthor sat in his comfy armchair, he polished off another drink and leaned back. Superman was going to be destroyed, Metropolis would be torn apart, the Bat and his 'Nightwing' would be murdered and he would be able to swoop in and make a profit, the rest of the Light will be pleased.

Suddenly the plane door from his private jet was torn off and the air pressure suddenly dropped and rose in a matter of seconds.

The man dressed in the red and blue Kryptonian, under armour which was normally worn under Kryptonian Robotic Battle Suits, suit walked onto his plane. He turned to see Luthor and ran like a blur straight at him. He picked up Luthor and lifted him into the air.

"Luthor!" Superman screamed. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Really Superman?" Luthor grinned. "Are you?"

His hands moved to his belt and twisted the buckle. A beam of energy shot out of the belt and struck Superman. Kal-El was suddenly struck by the attack and flew straight towards the other side of the plane. Luthor landed on his feet and instantly made his way back to his chair.

He found a small switch in the armrest and flicked it. Suddenly the comfy chair began to morph onto his body.

Superman rubbed his head from the strange concussive energy blast to see Luthor's chair turned into a military style green robot exo-skeleton; which strangely left his bald head in the open.

"Let's dance alien!" he grinned. Luthor ran straight at Kal-El and tackled him out of the plane. The wind rustled across them as they free fell towards the ground.

The Bat and Nightwing rose through the air, the Bat using his cape while Nightwing used his fold in wings along with the new Wayne Tech patented pulse technology in their boots.

They reached the building and Nightwing stared at the two figures in front of him.

One was a tall, skinny, lanky man with bright green hair, white skin and bright red lips. He was dressed in a bright purple jacket, trousers, shirt and stripy tie covered in a dark musty trench coat.

The other was a smaller woman who had bright white hair in pigtails. Her face was pale like the man's and her lips were bright scarlet and her eyes were covered in a black domino mask. She wore a strange red and black tight outfit which looked uncomfortable. She held the empty RPG and an oversized hammer in the other.

"Hey Batsy!" chuckled the Joker. "How you doin'?"

"Who let you two out of Arkham!" the Bat growled back, avoiding the games.

"Oh we can't say that!" laughed the Joker. "But they did make me promise to kill you, that's my promise and my reward. Isn't it just great!"

"Yes Puddin'" The woman said back to him.

"Shh Harley, the grownups are talking," the Joker said with a psychotic smile. He suddenly produced a large oversized revolver and aimed it at the Bat. "Time to die!"

"Bat, get down!" Nightwing shouted, moving in to kick the gun from the Joker's hand.

The Bat placed a hand on his chest to stop him as the Joker pulled the trigger. A pole popped out with a red flag saying '_Bang!_'

"Now, now, Junior," chuckled the Joker. "You clearly don't know me at all!"

The Bat kicked the gun from the Joker's hand to the ground and stared at the pale man. "Are you going to come quietly?"

"Of course not Batsy," the Joker grinned manically. "I just wanna have some fun."

The Joker swung a lazily punch at the Bat which he side stepped and followed with a punch to the nose. The Joker jumped back, his nose dripping blood slightly.

"Same out Bats, always going for the face."

"And you're always going for the punch line," the Bat growled as he began to advance on him with a boxer's guard.

Harley lifted the over sized hammer, dropped the useless RPG and turned to Nightwing. "How about it puddin'?"

"I'm not really up for that sort of thing," Nightwing sighed, producing his batons and creating his bo staff. He brought it down but Harley blocked it with the hammer and pushed him back.

"I'll have you know that I'm in a happy relationship," she chuckled at him.

The Joker and the Bat fought like master boxers as their partners battled beside them.

"We do the same thing Bats," the Joker explained. "You punch me, I punch you, you put me in Arkham and then I break out. And if I'm honest I'm getting tired of it."

The Bat avoided a jab and slugged the laughing man below the ribs; making him bend over in pain.

"Well stay in Arkham then you lunatic," the Bat growled as he brought his hands like a hammer down on his back and then swept the man's legs out from underneath him.

The Joker hit the ground and began laughing. "I meant one of us is going have to die here old Batsy!" The Joker rose to his feet and instantly produced a large military knife which he moved about with precision. "And you aren't exactly the spring bat that you used to be."

Harley brought down the hammer, smacking Nightwing to the ground. The Bat's student knew he couldn't let the pain get to him so he rolled backwards onto his feet and spun his staff; electrifying it.

"Ooh that looks pretty," Harley marvelled.

The two advanced on each other, Harley brought down the hammer and Nightwing dodged the attack, jumped on top of the oversized mallet and brought down the taser stick which Harley then sidestepped and back flipped away from.

Harley then produced two slim revolvers from out of nowhere and aimed at Nightwing. "Night puddin'."

_Oh fuck_, Nightwing thought as he dived across the building from the oncoming bullets. He dived across the rooftop and made a hand movement which set his gauntlets to produce batarangs. He flicked his wrist upon landing on the hard concrete flooring and threw it straight at Harley.

The revolvers were knocked from her hands and she scowled at the black metallic clothed man. "That wasn't very nice."

The Bat dodged a swipe from the knife and kicked the Joker in the stomach.

"You're going back to Arkham Joker!" the Bat barked as he advanced on the clown man.

"No I'm going to die," the Joker chuckled as he swung the knife again. "Or you are!"

The Joker kept advancing on the Avenger of the Night, swinging his shiny blade towards his cowl covered face; constantly laughing and chuckling with every strike.

Nightwing performed a handspring into a round off straight towards Harley Quinn who was picking up the massive hammer. As soon as he faced her the hammer was brought down on his head. Instantly Nightwing hit the ground, staring up at Harley Quinn with blurry vision.

"Time to die puddin'!" Harley sniggered as she raised the hammer once again.

_Oh fuck!_

Superman slugged Luthor in the robotic suit, testing the density of the armour. He felt slight pain so he guessed it was dense enough to keep him alive at a fall at this altitude but not without injuries.

He grinned as head butted Luthor, which dazed the trillionaire and then threw him down towards the ground. Gravity and the force of Kal-El's throw sent him hurtling towards the Earth, they were on the very outskirts of Metropolis so Superman hoped no one would be hurt by the impact of the villain's fall.

Lex Luthor tried to reach for the emergency flaps on his suit. He struggled but activated them and his descent was instantly stopped.

_Oh fuck no_, Superman thought. He flew down to him, gripped the armour and pushed it down to the ground at rapid speed. Luthor tried to shake him off but he couldn't stop himself from hurtling to the ground.

The two wrestled as the ground continually rushed towards them.

**_BANG!_** The ground shook as Superman drove Lex Luthor into the earth. The boots of the suit folded in under the impact, making Lex wince with pain as the metal cut through his flesh, as Superman continually pushed him into the crater they had created in an empty street.

Superman rose and looked down at Luthor who was now up to his neck in dirt.

"I had to kill him," Superman told him. "And it's all your fault! Now you must die!"

Harley brought down the gigantic hammer towards Nightwing with a crippling blow. A red and black blur knocked the hammer from her hands and onto the floor. Nightwing and Harley turned their heads to see Red Robin, or more commonly known as Tim Drake, standing beside them.

"Sorry for being late," he told Nightwing as he produced his staff and swung it towards Harley.

"Better late than never," Nightwing smile weakly, his vision improving.

Red Robin turned to Harley. "How you been Harley, long time no see."

Red Robin brought down his staff on the woman's head, flipped over her and then swept her legs out from underneath her.

Nightwing struggled to his feet as Harley stood up from Red Robin's attack, rubbing her head. "Didn't think I'd see you again," she giggled. "As soon as you swapped the tights for the leather."

Red Robin folded up his staff and advanced on Harley with his hands curled into fists. "Well let's dance."

Red Robin feigned right and hit her with a hard left, sending Harley backwards.

"That really hurt!" she screamed. She shrieked and ran straight him. She back flipped and out stretched her foot, kicking him in the face.

"Oh look it's your latest model!" the Joker cackled, referring to Red Robin. "How many of these do you have?"

"I'd rather keep you guessing," the Bat barked as he kicked the blade from the Joker's grasp.

The Bat swung another strike at the Joker and then followed it up with a kick to the shins. The Joker gasped and looked up at the Bat.

"It isn't like me but I'm being deadly serious," The Joker giggled. He held up his sleeve, the barrel of a gun popped out and the Joker fired.

A bullet flew from the chamber and straight into the mouth of the Dark Knight. The bullet crushed his teeth, went through his face and out the other side of his armour. Blood began to pour through the only hole in his cowl.

Nightwing's vision returned and he watched as the Bat dropped to his knees, blood pouring profusely from his mouth. The Bat, Bruce Wayne, was dying right in front of him; killed by the Joker.

"**_NO!_**" Nightwing cried. Red Robin smacked Harley Quinn in the neck, knocking her out, and turned to see what had scared Nightwing so much. "**_You bastard!_**"

Nightwing instantly ran straight at the Joker with a fire in his eyes.

Superman's eyes flared red as he looked down at Lex Luthor with a deep rage which he was finally unleashing.

"No Superman!" came a booming voice from behind him.

Superman turned his head to see a powerful looking woman. She wore a tight red and blue uniform which left her legs and arms unprotected. Her hair was long, wavy and black and on top of that was a golden tiara. She had bright red and white knee high boots, thick metal bracelets, a sheathed sword and a golden rope by her side.

"Who are you to stop me?" he barked.

"I'm Princess Diana of the Amazon but you can call me Wonder Woman," she said, taking her sword from its scabbard. "You can't kill him, we have to place him in a criminal institution."

"But why?" Superman roared. "He made me kill, he's evil and nothing will change that!"

"Yes but it's not your right to decide that," Wonder Woman told him. "Now stand down!"

Superman turned back to Luthor, his eyes flaring red. He then extinguished the energy and growled at the cowering genius in a crushed suit of armour. He bent his knees and flew off into the sky at great speed.

Nightwing sprinted straight at the Joker and punched him in the face. He pushed the Joker down and kept slugging him, constantly screaming for his fallen mentor.

Red Robin ran over to the Bat and picked him up and cradled him in his arms, sobbing.

"**_I'm going to kill you!_**"

The Joker pushed Nightwing off him, his face covered in bruises and his nose dripping. "Oh Junior, didn't you know. This was going to happen but...oh well I see you around kid."

The Joker turned and walked towards the door which lead to the exit of the building.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Nightwing shouted after. "Come back here right now!"

"Or what Junior," the Joker laughed. "You're not the Bat, you're just another phoney like that Red boy over there. You can't keep up with me; that was the dead man's job."

Nightwing produced a batarang and threw it at the Joker as he opened the door to the stairwell. The sharp object stabbed him hard in the back, this made the Joker fall down the stairs. Nightwing ran to see where he fell but the villain was gone, all he could hear was his irritating laugh.

Instantly Nightwing turned and ran to the dying body of the Bat. He realised no one was around so he reached down and tore off the cowl; deactivating the security protocols in the suit first.

Bruce's face was pale and the blood flow was turning to a deathly trickle.

"Bruce, Bruce, Bruce can you hear me?" Nightwing shouted at him.

"Ryan," Bruce groaned. "Protect Gotham."

In his final action, Bruce Wayne weakly took Nightwing's hand and placed it on the Bat symbol which sat on the chest of his metallic suit. That was when he died and the blood stopped flowing from his mouth, it congealed on his lower lip.

"**_No!_**" he shouted, tears pouring down his face. "**_Not like this! Not like this!_**"

Nightwing collapsed onto the dead body, sobbing and weeping. Red Robin cradled the dead body of his former mentor, tears flowing like a river.

Kal-El's red boots touched down on the rooftop and he saw what had happened. He walked over and knelt by the dead body, silent tears rolling down his face. He had seen so much death that day, he vowed that while he was Superman no one else would die; not on his watch, he swore on the spirits of Superboy and Bruce, he would be the one hero the world needed.

The Bat had finally bit the dust and it was the saddest day for all of them. They weren't sure on the future but right now, without Bruce at the helm, it looked incredibly bleak.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Issue 21, the final issue centred around the battle of Metropolis. So now we've seen Princess Diana, Joker, Harley Quinn, Black Mask and the Toyman. All will return...eventually. I have killed Bruce Wayne and I am sorry for any people that read this and hate the idea that Bruce Wayne dies but this is an fan fiction story and only when he is dead can the rest of the plot occur. If you have any questions then ask them in a Review of PM me. Thanks and as always, a favourite, a follow or a like would be great :D


	22. MDK ISSUE 22

**ISSUE 22:**

The effects of the Battle for Metropolis had been catastrophic and left deep scars in all of the participants. Superman had done his best to collect all the destroyed robots, deceased corpses and rebuilt most of the buildings. Ryan and Tim had to strip Bruce of the Bat suit and dress him in his suit and then make it bloody so it looked like he had been killed in the chaos. Lex Luthor had disappeared and the strange Princess Kal-El encountered had disappeared too. Superman had buried Superboy's body in secret and had a service on his own while Ryan and Tim went back to Wayne Manor where they had to organise Bruce's funeral.

The whole event after the rooftop battle was a blur for Ryan. He'd taken off the costume, given a statement to the Police who seemed to disappear the night before, and then got on the Wayne Private Jet and gone back to the Wayne Estate.

He just felt empty. Bruce was now his life and without him he was nothing. Even their investigation was pointless as their only lead had disappeared and all the criminals who were linked to them had gone too.

How would Wayne Enterprises continue, though Ryan had the feeling it would be handed over to Tim or Lucius Fox as they had already been working for the company.

And the worst bit was when he had tried to sleep, he couldn't stop repeating Bruce's death over and over again and he still felt that if he had taken down Harley quicker then Bruce would still be alive. But he wasn't...Bruce was dead.

Ryan watched as a Gotham priest read from his small bible as Bruce's expensive looking coffin was lowered into the ground. Alfred, Tim and Ryan stood around the grave; Clark couldn't make it as he was still fixing Metropolis and Ryan understood that; though he had a feeling he was avoiding the small funeral as he didn't want to get angry again and go off and try and kill someone. Tim and Ryan threw a single rose into the grave and then plucked up the shovels which they used to push dirt on top of the wooden box containing the dead corpse of a once great man.

Ryan adjusted his black suit tie as the rain began to fall and they ended the small service. As Bruce had got older he had lost friends due to his obsession with stopping criminals; so they were the only ones who attended the funeral.

As they finished Ryan noticed that Alfred was making his way over to two other gravestones nearby. Tim turned off with the Priest, escorting back to his car in the rain, while Ryan followed the old manservant.

Alfred starting crying. "I'm so sorry, you trusted me and I failed you. I failed you."

Ryan knelt down and put his arm around the elderly English gentleman. "Are you okay?"

"Yes Master Connolly," Alfred snivelled, stopping himself from weeping.

Ryan read the gravestones. Thomas Wayne, Father, Husband and Fantastic Doctor. Martha Wayne, excellent mother and wife. This was Bruce's parents; that's when Ryan remembered why Bruce's story was so tragic, when he was eight years old his parents were killed in an alleyway, shot by some goon.

"Is that why he became the Bat?" Ryan asked. "Because of his parent's death."

"Yes," Alfred snivelled. "I feared for him for a long time but I realised that this was his coping mechanism, Master Wayne was in permanent mourning; the event deeply scarred him."

The rain began to increase. "Come on, let's go indoors," Ryan told the man, rising to his feet. Alfred spun his electric wheelchair around and went back to the house. Ryan looked at the two gravestones and then at Bruce's.

Was this the legacy of the Bat, the death of two loving parents and the death of a psychotic man who had taken the symbol of animal to defend the weak from criminals?

"I'm so sorry," Ryan told the three head stones. "I'm sorry you all had to die."

He sombrely turned around and walked back towards the house as the rain became near torrential.

Ryan had taken off his wet jacket and his muddy shoes; loosened his tie and headed sadly towards the large wooden grandfather clock which doubled as an entrance to the Bat Cave. He pressed the switch and entered the elevator. It took him down and Ryan exited the pod and into the spacious, wet walled, cave system under the large estate.

Ryan walked on the platform, contemplating Bruce's final words. '_Ryan, Protect Gotham._'

"But how?" he thought aloud. "How can I do what you did? You were more than a man, you were more than human; you were a superhuman."

Ryan sat down at the large, expensive, chair at the Bat Computer and stared at the blank screen. "What do want me to do Bruce, give me a clue?"

He heard the sound of the elevator and saw Alfred navigating himself out of the Pod and into the Bat Cave. He'd only seen Alfred down there a few time, he made it obviously he didn't like the Cave system and the Bat persona all together.

Ryan leaned on the console, his head pounding with different thoughts.

"Master Connolly," Alfred said softly.

Ryan spun around in the chair to face the elderly man bound to a wheelchair.

"We need to have a talk," he sighed. "Now you may have known that I hated Master Wayne's endless endeavour to become the Bat. But I let it go, I believed it was his way of not turning into a psychopath and killing hundreds of people. For years I feared they would put him in Arkham, but he suffered a worse fate." Alfred took a deep breath, he was shaking slightly. "I would never force the identity of the Bat on anyone; it is a hard life but over time I have come to realise that Bruce didn't just need the Bat, Gotham and the world did. Now he's gone, I want you to consider finishing Master Wayne's crusade on crime. I want _you_ to consider taking permanent residence here, becoming the sole heir to the Wayne fortune and taking up the Mantle of the Bat."

"Alfred I can't," Ryan told him. "I'm not Bruce, Tim's closer to being the Bat than I am."

"I knew that I couldn't persuade you," Alfred mumbled. "I didn't want to show you this but maybe his words will work better than mine."

Alfred manoeuvred himself towards the large computer system and activated it. He moved the cursor rapidly along a set of files and then punched in a code with his weary hands. As he wheeled himself backwards, away from the console, the screen went completely black and Bruce appeared.

Bruce was wearing the same clothes he wore on the night he first visited and trained with Bruce on computer hacking and programming. Had he recorded it after he left?

"Hello Ryan," Bruce said. "Now either you've found this by mistake or Alfred has activated Protocol Alpha Six. If it's the latter then that means I have been killed and not of old age. I am dead and buried and right now you are considering what your next move will be."

"Yep," Ryan said, knowing that Bruce couldn't hear him.

"Well I need you to understand the gravity of your situation. Gotham and the world need a Bat to keep them scared and to keep them in line. Without a Bat, the criminals will flow back into the streets and take over; they will destroy what I have fought so hard to stop from happening. In you I see potential, I see a Bat, in you I see me. Dick and Tim can't carry the Mantle because they are too much like me but you, you aren't. The Bat needs someone stable, not someone who is broken by tragedy. I could handle the strain and the others couldn't. I believe that you are my successor, I believe you have the real drive to make a difference; after all that's why I took you on in the first place."

Bruce paused and suddenly a window popped up in the corner. "If you press the 'enter' key then this program will transfer you to become the heir to the Wayne fortune, the house, land, money, everything will be in your name. Don't worry about the company, I have placed it in the capable hands of Lucius Fox and Tim."

Ryan's finger hovered over the enter key. Should he do it?

"Once you have the funds, I want you to become the Bat; take on my mission and continue it on. Because without you, the legacy of the Bat ends here and now."

Ryan felt the words hit home. His finger pushed down on the key and the window's loading bar began to be filled with green. With every second that passed Ryan was coming closer and closer to gaining the Wayne Fortune.

When the window finished loading, the image of Bruce flickered; clearly there were two different pre recorded messages to relay at that point, and he then reappeared fully.

"Now you have everything placed in your name," Bruce told him. "And please don't morn for me, I spent my whole life mourning my parents and that had driven me onwards but you aren't driven by vengeance, you're driven by your strong moral compass and your hate for evil. So good luck on your crusade, Bat." At the end of the message Ryan saw a miracle, Bruce Wayne actually smiled before the image cut away and the screen was reset back to the usual desktop image.

"Well done Master Connolly," Alfred said. "If Master Wayne were still alive today, he would be very proud of you."

"Alfred if he was alive I wouldn't have to make this choice," Ryan sighed, once again emphasising on Bruce's death. "And I'm not Bruce, what drives him every day; I don't have that. I can try and be the Bat but that's just not who I am; I'm not a monster out there looking for scum to punch in the face."

"Well of course you're not Master Wayne," Alfred smiled. "The Bat was his title but the Mantle can still continue. You're not a monster, you are a man who wishes to save the world from himself. A Batman."

Ryan smiled, coming to a realisation. "I'm not Bruce, I'm not the Bat, I'm the next best thing; I'm the Batman."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Issue 22, the funeral and final message from Bruce Wayne. I hope this issue finally put to rest any confusion to why I called Bruce the Bat and not the Batman; that's because it's Ryan's title; to show that he isn't Bruce and he doesn't have his cold and logical mind; he's a human with a heart and emotions. This Issue hopefully clears the air of Bruce's death, which will plague Ryan for much longer, and makes way for the rest of the series. As always, a review, a follow or a favourite would be great and stay tuned for the next Issue. :)


	23. MDK ISSUE 23

**ISSUE 23:**

Tim was worried about Ryan. Since they'd returned from Metropolis three days ago, Ryan had spent most of his time down in the Cave. Alfred had told him to just leave Ryan alone and go beat up some bad guys. For the past days Tim had gone out on patrol on his own, constantly worrying about Bruce's latest partner.

He'd finally had enough of not seeing what Ryan was doing down there. He went to the Grandfather clock, opened it and rode the elevator down to the cavern system below. He exited the pod and walked onto the metallic platform.

His eyes instantly moved across from the large computer screen which was covered in images of the Joker and Harley Quinn and then over to a work bench. Sparks flew from the work bench and Tim walked over to see Ryan wearing a pair of goggles, working on something which looked like Black Cloth.

"What are you doing?" Tim asked.

Ryan stopped what he was doing, removed the goggles and looked at the worried Tim. "Developing a new suit."

"And that?" Tim asked, pointing at the images of Joker and Harley Quinn.

"Bruce has handed me the task of being Gotham's protector, although I'm going by the alias The Batman, and if I am going to fill that role then I'm going to have to learn all about the Bat's rogue's gallery. I used to rely on Bruce for that information but now it's up to me to teach myself their tactics and psychotic tendencies."

"So you are going to do it," Tim smiled.

"Yes and this is going to be my new suit," Ryan grinned. He pulled off the goggles and clutched the black cloth. Suddenly it began to whir and he was left holding a dark grey metal belt. He clipped it around his waist and stepped away from the work bench and into full view.

He pushed the buckle topping to one side, revealing a slight button. He pressed it and slid the plate back into place. Suddenly his black t-shirt and jeans were covered in a black fabric. It moved like a liquid across his body and enveloped him completely.

The fabric settled on his body, metal plates began to appear out of nowhere, shift and aligned themselves on his body. Tim looked at the suit. It was a completely different look from the Bat's.

Ryan was dressed in a complete all in one black outfit. Metal plating was all around his chest, arms, legs, feet, shins; the black cloth was practically an under coating. The cowl and cape had gone was replaced. He had the pointy ears of the cowl but his face was completely covered, you could only see his eyes which were the bright white of the Bat. There were no obvious gloves, boots or utility belt. On his chest was the Bat symbol but it was a dark grey, different from Bruce's original insignia.

"That's different," Tim said, still taking in the suit.

"It's got fold up wings, pulse technology in the boots, imbedded computer controlled by voice which can be projected through speakers in the mask; if I switch it off you won't be able to hear me, as the mask covers my face and mouth, which is great for when I'm cursing after getting hit. Batarangs fire out of the wrists along with other gadgets and the forearm spikes also extend by voice," Ryan explained lengthily. "Deactivate." The suit rapidly undid itself and moved back into the belt. "It's also fingerprint locked meaning only I can use the suit."

"You've pretty much updated the suit with technology," Tim smiled.

"Yep," Ryan replied with a smile. "It also increases my strength and amplifies my hearing from all angles. It makes me a better Batman and I hope that this suit could be the difference between life and death; though I also hope I'm good enough to protect the people of Gotham without it."

"You've really stepped up to this," Tim smiled at him. "Bruce made the right choice."

"I always thought you'd take over the mantle," Ryan partially lied. "Since you were the second Robin."

"So you read the files," Tim smiled. "And actually I was the third."

"Really?"

"Yes, Bruce probably erased the records of the actual second Robin because he didn't want you seeing them," Tim smiled. "The second Robin, Jason Todd died, he was beaten and blow up by the Joker."

"Is that why Bruce hated the psychopath so much?"

"One of the many, many, many reasons," Tim replied. He looked at the pictures. "That guy isn't a criminal mastermind or a gangster he's just chaos personified. As Alfred once put it, he's one of those men who just want to watch the world burn."

"Then why didn't Bruce ever kill him?" Ryan asked. "Because surely he could tell the Joker was never going to quit?"

"He couldn't," Tim sighed. "He vowed never to kill or wield a gun. He has perfect precision and aim with the weapon but he despises them after the death of his parents. He said they were the weapons of cowards."

"And now Bruce's dead," Ryan sighed, reminding himself. "But I'll justify his death by continuing on the battle of the Bat, the Mantle of the Batman shall live on."

"Good, now let's go on patrol."

The Light had met once again, only over a video call. L-1 stared at his monitor, rubbing his chin.

"So you let the Kryptonian get away, the Amazonian get away **and** you let Superman kill Project Cadmus."

"Yes, I'm sorry," Luthor sighed. "But don't worry, I have a plan."

"I believe that's what you said last time," came a small child like voice.

"I know, I know," Lex sighed. "Just give me one more chance."

"I'm not sure," said a heavily accented woman.

"I got one thing right," Luthor told them. "The Bat has been killed by the Joker. That means Gotham city is wide open for the taking."

"We already have Gotham," L-1 told Luthor. "But at least now we don't have any resistance to us."

"Then you may live," the woman said.

"Thank you," Luthor said happily. "And don't worry about the Kryptonian, Superman, I think me and my scientists may have come up with a weakness for the alien."

"Good, good, Luthor," L-1 smiled to the screen.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

I don't know about you guys but I honestly prefer seeing action in these stories. But alas we have to see some character and plot development, meaning that I have to write Chapters just like this one. The new Bat suit is like the suit worn by Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond but the red has been swapped for grey.

Red Robin won't be around for long so be prepared for someone else to meet the 'Batman'. As always, a review or a favourite or a follow would be great. Stay tuned for the next Issue.


	24. MDK ISSUE 24

**ISSUE 24:**

A lone man ran down the dark street, utterly terrified. Cold blood dried on his face and the metal revolver felt slippery in his warm sweaty hand. He kept on sprinting, his pulse pounding in his ears.

He turned his head slightly and saw the black shadow of a man with strange horns running across the rooftop.

_Oh fuck, fuck, fuck_, he thought, his voice screaming inside his head.

He kept sprinting when the shadow jumped in front of him.

"Going somewhere?" it asked in a gravelly voice. What terrified the criminal the most was that the creature didn't have a mouth to speak out of.

The Batman gripped the man's wrist and twisted it, making him drop the gun onto the ground with a clatter. He then punched the man in the throat and swept his legs out from underneath him. The criminal didn't stand a chance.

The man gasped for air as a pair of handcuffs flew out of the shadows wrists. Batman bent down and cuffed the man's hand behind his back and in a whisper he deactivated the speakers in the suit, neutralising his voice to the outside world.

"I just caught a murderer," Batman told Red Robin through the inbuilt communicator in his mask with a smile. "What about you?"

"I'm chasing a shop lifter now," Red Robin told him, sounding out of breath.

"Send automated call to the Police," Batman told his suit, the inbuilt computer sent a preset call the Gotham Central Police Department. Batman held out his arms and the inbuilt wings unfolded from the back of his suit and the pulse technology in his boots lifted him off the ground.

He'd never felt so good taking down a crook. It was probably because that he was finally the Bat, he should say the Batman. It felt amazing knowing how much fear came with the identity, finally he could wage a war on crime and win!

The night had been long and hard, Ryan had spent the whole time in the Bat suit, constantly chasing one man after the other and honestly he had never had more fun in his life. When he began he felt like he was a constant disappointment but since he knew he had Bruce's blessing to adopt the Bat Mantle, he felt free; like he could take out all of Gotham at once.

But even creatures of the night needed rest, so Ryan had clocked off at 6am and gone to bed at Wayne Manor which was now his house! He still couldn't quite believe he owned the whole place, the money, the company, the cars, the land, it was amazing!

Ryan rolled out of bed at midday with ruffled hair and a strange stiffness in shoulder. One guy last night had actually punched him so naturally in anger he hit him back harder, only know did he realise how much he leaned into the attack; pulling a few muscles in his shoulder.

He grabbed a spare t-shirt off his bedside table and pulled it on over his slightly bruised but muscular body. Luckily he was already wearing track suit bottoms so he just slid out of bed and walked out of his room. He felt like brunch which he knew Alfred could whip up in a few minutes.

He smiled at the thought of bacon as he padded down the large corridor and down the stairs of the house. He stopped at the top of the stairs as he saw Tim opening the door with a back pack over one shoulder, Alfred behind him in his wheelchair.

"Tim?" Ryan shouted, his voice echoing around the large lobby of the estate. He jumped on the banisters and rode them like a skateboard down to the bottom and performed a flip at the end. His bare feet padded on the marble as he touched down and ran to his departing friend. "Where you going?"

"Nice flip," Tim smiled, his black hair slightly ruffled. "And to answer your question I'm going home."

"But this is your home," Ryan pleaded, he didn't want someone else to leave him.

"No it's your home now," Tim told him, closing the door and approaching him. He placed a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "When I left Bruce to become my own hero I didn't think I'd ever come back to this house but I have. And in that time I've made a life for myself. It was nice running around with Bruce again but now he's gone; I should get going."

"But I need you," Ryan told him, staring into his deep blue eyes.

Tim laughed. "You really aren't Bruce are you," he took his hand from Ryan's shoulder and into his trouser pocket. "Listen, Bruce saw a Bat, or a Batman, in you and the Batman needs help from time to time but he works alone. I've seen you fight out there and you are capable to crusade against crime on your own, you've come a long way from that tired cop I fought in the alley."

"I kicked your ass," Ryan retorted with a smile.

"We'll see about that," Tim replied jokingly. "I wasn't going to wake you to say goodbye but clearly I'll have to say it anyway." Tim almost had tears in his eyes. "Goodbye Ryan."

Tim held out his hand but Ryan wasn't just shaking hands. He grabbed Tim by the wrist and pulled him in for a hug. The two hugged for five seconds and then Ryan stood back, trying not to cry.

"I'll see you around," Ryan told him.

"Oh I'll be back," Tim told him, turning to the door. "Especially since I know you won't be cold like the old man to send me away if I knock on the door at 5 in the morning." Tim stood in the doorway in his jeans, coat and t-shirt with his backpack over one shoulder. "See you Alfred."

"Goodbye Master Drake," he smiled with a wrinkled face.

Tim then turned and walked down the drive, Ryan assumed Alfred had called him a car though he didn't really think it would inconvenience the Red Robin if he didn't. Alfred closed the large door and did up the multiple locks.

"He was 9 year old when I first met him," Alfred told him with a smile. "Cracked Bruce's identity from an old news reel and kept bugging him until he became Batman's new Robin. He was always a Detective first and foremost."

"What about Jason?"

"What about him?"

"Well Bruce hasn't kept any records of him and he never mentioned him ever," Ryan told the elderly man. "What happened to him?"

"The Joker happened," Alfred sighed. "He captured Jason, beat him with a crowbar and then blew him up. It destroyed Bruce and for a long time he operated as the Bat alone; until Tim came along and reshaped him."

"What about Dick Grayson?"

"Dick...Dick's very different," Alfred sighed. "He lived here for many years but after an accidental killing, he quit. That's why the Nightwing costume is here, that was his costume, now Dick works as the head of Wayne Security."

"So still protecting the innocent."

"Oh definitely Master Connolly," Alfred beamed. "Very much so."

"Not hassling you Alfred but could I have some breakfast?"

Alfred stifled a laugh. "Master Wayne would never ask such a request. What would you be wanting?"

"How about something you should be familiar with," Ryan replied. "Cooked English Breakfast?"

"Coming right up," Alfred spun his chair around and headed off to the kitchen.

_Breakfast and some TV sounds good_, he thought as he made his way into the lounge and plucked the remote off the main table in the centre. He flopped onto the couch and pressed the large red button on the top.

The large family portrait of the Wayne family, slowly moved backwards into the wall and slid upwards; a large plasma flat TV screen sat behind it. The TV burst into life and the first thing that came on was the news.

The jingle for Gotham Central News blared through the speakers all around the room, Bruce really had bought the best sound system money could buy. The intro moved across the screen and then a pretty woman appeared at a desk sitting with a tablet in front of her.

She adjusted his brown bob before she stared directly at the camera. "Good Afternoon Gotham, I'm Georgia King and you're watching Gotham Central News."

A strange jingle came again as she turned to another camera on her right.

"Last night the Police received multiple tip offs for captured criminals. Strangely when the police arrived the men and women were handcuffed and left in the streets in great pain. The Commissioner of the Police believes that the Bat has once again returned to Gotham after the catastrophic battle of Metropolis a few days ago."

The woman turned to another camera.

"Some say that the Bat has adopted a new form. He used to be covered in a cape and cowl but now he seems to be a shadow, still retaining his chest emblem and pointy ears. The Police are infuriated at the return of the vigilante and once again are on the hunt for him."

She looked down at her tablet and spoke again.

"Last night, a young boy has been taken from his families' apartment. A message has been sent to the parents of the child for a large amount of money to be sent to them in exchange for the child's life. The Police cannot intervene as that would endanger the child's safety, the real question is where will they get the funds to pay the kidnappers."

She turned to another camera which confused Ryan, were the different auto cues on different cameras or did she just need to keep her neck moving.

"And on lighter news, Superman has spoken to the public of Metropolis in a formal speech, introducing himself and his intentions to fix the city and protect it from anymore possible threats. Lex Corp, Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries have all thrown in large pay cheques to rebuild the city and along with the amazing powers of the Man of Tomorrow; Metropolis looks to be rapidly on the mend. Some wonder will the Bat ever come out to the public and make himself known like Superman has today."

Ryan had stopped listening at 'kidnappers'. A boy had been taken from his home and the Police couldn't intervene. He knew that was a load of bullshit that the Commissioner had given, they could intervene in secret but his job after all was to let the criminals go and then get a heap load of cash from their illegal work.

The Police 'couldn't' help but who said anything about the Bat intervening on the situation.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Issue 24...not the most climatic or the most fun to write but it is a set up for some classic Batman detective work in which another Detective/Hero will appear. Who that is...well you'll just have to guess. I hope you enjoyed the story and if you could leave a review that would be great and stay tuned for the next Issue in the series.


	25. MDK ISSUE 25

**ISSUE 25:**

Alfred sighed as he saw the lounge was empty. "He really is like Master Wayne, "he muttered with a slight smile. He made his way to the grandfather clock in the front of the house and found the slight button at the back. He entered the elevator pod and made sure that the still hot brunch he had prepared for Ryan was still on his lap. When he reached the cave underneath, he made his way across the elevated platform to see Ryan sitting at, what he dubbed, the Bat Computer.

"You may not be as cold as Master Bruce," Alfred announced from behind the large computer chair. "But you definitely share similar traits."

Alfred pulled a sliding tray out from under the console of the computer system and placed a plate of steaming cooked food and a glass of water on top of it.

"I'm sorry Alfred, food slipped my mind," Ryan apologised, tapping away on the large keyboard.

"Master Bruce often did that," Alfred said, recalling fond memories of his surrogate son. "So what case are you working on?"

"I know that an organisation has taken the world over," Ryan explained. "But all the good leads I have are gone. So while I look for a new one, I'm going to be finding a boy who was kidnapped."

"So you're going through the Police files?" Alfred said, already knowing the answer after watching Bruce for hours on end.

"Yes and I'm going to be meeting Jim Gordon later tonight."

"And you're not worried about that?"

Ryan spun around in the chair. "Why would I be?"

"Well you have a different costume and you don't have the same voice as Master Wayne."

"That's what I thought," Ryan told the old man. "I have in fact added a voice modulation piece into the suit which will make my voice more similar to Bruce's Bat voice."

"So you can speak like him but without the painful aftermath," Alfred joked.

"Pretty much Alfred," Ryan smiled. "I'm sure Gordon won't notice who I am and even without the mask on; I've changed a lot since then so surely he wouldn't recognise me in the shadows."

"Particularly with your black hair which you should re dye by the way," Alfred moved the silver tray on his lap. "Since you are having a public talk today about why you inherited the Wayne Fortune and the company."

"What?" Ryan burst out.

"You are attending a press conference tomorrow at 1pm to talk about your new inheritance or should I say Rick Gray's inheritance."

"I forgot about that identity," he sighed. "I'll re dye my hair later, but right now I need to find that boy."

The gang who had kidnapped the boy were a bunch of unknowns who were clearly operating under the organisation who had enveloped the world; Bruce had written their name down as The Light.

Their base of operations was the stereotypical warehouse near the gang infested docks. The warehouse was made of flimsy metal and had windows going all around the top.

Batman was familiar with these types of bases by now and he scanned the area with his enhanced sight lenses; the inbuilt computer analysed the area and gave him endless read outs. Batman was so happy that he had installed filters and air coolers in the suit as it was incredibly stuffy inside the mask since there were no holes for his nose and mouth.

"Blueprints for warehouse," Batman told his suit, the sound proofing fabric in the mask neutralised the sound waves so that the outside world couldn't hear him. The inbuilt computer followed the command and on his left lens appeared the schematic.

With one eye he memorised the layout of the large warehouse and with the other he watched to see what ways the gang moved in and out of their base of operations. Batman used to wonder why his predecessor watched the criminals before coming back later to strike. It never made much made sense to him but now he fully understood, he understood the gangs first; gave over the evidence to the Police and then took the gangs out and after that the Police would clear up the mess.

He checked the small digital clock that sat in the corner of one of his lenses. He had about ten minutes to get across Gotham and to Lieutenant Gordon on top of the Police Station and he **couldn't** be late, Bruce never was and that would be a dead giveaway that he wasn't the real Bat or Batman.

He spread out his arms and the grey wings extended from the back of the suit. He admitted that the wings did make him look like a Bat yet it wasn't the exact same look Bruce used to don.

The pulse technology which compressed and pushed against the air particles around him, activated and he rose from the roof. Batman leaned forwards and zipped across the sky. He loved flying, he could see why Kal-El went off flying so much; you felt like your own man, when he flew Batman felt free.

He banked left, seeing the Police Station on the horizon. He admitted that he wasn't as fast as the newly dubbed Man of Steel, but his flight speed was quite impressive as he made his way across the night time Gotham sky line.

"Grapple hook," Batman said, the computer accepted his command and set the dispensers in his wrists to gas compressed grapple hooks.

He neared the building and flicked his wrist, sending a grapple hook to the top of the neighbour to the Police Station; the Batman was on the dot and never a second earlier. He pulled himself up to the top of the building next to GCPD HQ and watched below as Gordon looked around. Someone was next to him.

The man turned his head, he was clearly nervous, and Batman saw who it was. It was Tom, his old partner, why had Gordon brought him along? He smirked as he imagined that this was how Bruce felt when Gordon had brought him along to their meeting.

"Computer, bring up Detective Tom Jones' file."

A document popped up on his left lens. It showed a folder but he immediately spied something different about Tom's rank. He had moved up, he was now a Sergeant.

"Typical, he moves up as soon as I leave," Batman smirked. The clock changed and Batman realised that it was time for the meeting.

He unhooked the grapple and flew down to the building. His feet touched down silently and he stood still behind them.

"Activate speakers, voice modulation software," Batman told his computer. "And fold up wings." The wings began to collapse back into the back of his suit. "Gordon."

The two Policemen spun around as his wings closed up fully. Gordon looked bemused by the new uniform but Tom look slightly scared by the Batman's presence.

"Evening," Gordon said.

"Why have you brought Sergeant Jones to the meeting?" Batman asked, imitating the original Bat's cold logical attitude.

"My man, Detective Connolly quit," Gordon sighed. "So Tom here took a promotion and I let him into my secret."

"Well you shouldn't have," Batman snapped back. "The more people that know; the more people that could hurt."

"Well I'm sorry but that's a risk I'm willing to take," Gordon retorted.

"On your head be it Gordon," Batman replied. "I have a lead for you. But it'll have to be done under the table."

"What do you mean?"

"I know where they are holding the boy who was kidnapped last night," Batman replied coolly in his harsh and growling voice. "But apparently you are not allowed to intervene."

"I already know that."

"I found it in the Police fi-" Batman stopped at the Lieutenant's reply. "How?"

"From another source I have," Gordon told him.

An alert popped up on his right lens, someone was now behind him.

He kept his breathing calm and tried not to look disturbed, just like Bruce did; nothing could surprise the Batman.

"Hello," the voice said.

Batman didn't even flinch. "I don't like people trying to surprise me."

"You aren't surprised by my apparition?" the man curiously enquired in a deep velvety voice.

"He isn't like the rest of us," Gordon told the man behind the avenger of Gotham. "He isn't scared easily."

The man moved from behind him to the side of Batman. He turned his head slightly to see the man was slightly smaller than himself. He wore a beige trilby and trench coat. His nose looked broken and his jaw line was strong; his thick brown hair came down around his small ears. The man's eyes were deep brown but to Batman's keen eye looked slightly off.

Batman felt a strange twinge in his head and he knew what the man was. He was a telepath. Just before they had battle Black Manchester, Bruce had taught him about psychic attacks and how to block them out, something he learned from Tibetan monks on his world travels.

This man was trying to go through his head, well surface thoughts anyway.

"Don't bother," Batman told the strange man. "I have blocks in place."

"It explains why you were harder to sense," the man smiled.

"Bat, this is John Jones," Gordon interrupted, ignoring the confusing conversation between the two Detectives. "He came to me with a tip off."

"It's Batman," Batman told him. "I've changed the name."

"Okay...Batman," Gordon said clearly confused at the change in the man he believed to be cold and ruthless. "Well he came to me about an hour ago with the tip off."

"I could have reached you earlier but I had a stake out first to gather extra evidence for you," Batman replied. "I thought that would be more useful to you than just a location."

"Very thorough Batman," John Jones smiled at him. "Your reputation precedes you."

"As it should," Batman replied, smiling under the mask. "I'm going to go back to the warehouse and rescue the boy from the gang and wait for you to round up the criminals." Batman held out his hand, "Video Evidence #26954," the Batman mumbled.

A USB drive popped out of his wrist and into his hand. He tossed it to Gordon and turned away from the rooftop. "I'll send you a signal when I'm finished."

"Batman," John said as the wings from the back of the suit began to extend.

Batman turned around. "What?"

"May I propose a collaboration of efforts?"

"I don't see how having a telepathic Detective would be an advantage."

The man suddenly rose off the ground with a cocky smile. "Let's say I have special talents."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

So that was Issue 25 and it's okay. I think some of you can guess who John Jones is but if you can't then you will find out in the upcoming issues. I hoped you've enjoyed this and if you leave a constructive review that would be great or if you want to see a character in a certain way then give me the tip and I'll probably do it.

Oh and P.S thanks to the Guest who reviewed the story; my first reviewer and that was cool. Thanks for the saying the universe was better than New 52 (though I find that hard to believe) and it's great to know you like my work that much. :)


	26. MDK ISSUE 26

**ISSUE 26:**

The computer inside the Bat suit was connected to the main servers but had less raw power than the main Bat Computer. So analysing DNA was a bit slower than back at the Cave. John Jones, the mysterious flying and telepathic Detective, puzzled Batman from the moment they met so he couldn't resist swiping the area behind him with the sensors in his gloves and running the strange man's DNA through the suits analyser.

As Batman soared across the sky with his wings, the Detective followed suit with his strange powers. Bruce had taught Batman that multi-tasking was highly useful and while planning ahead he had to watch and contemplate what was going on around him; while also doing the task at hand.

The analysing software in the suit finished and a partially transparent window popped up on his right lens. The read outs confirmed his thoughts about him. Like his friend, the newly dubbed Man of Steel, this man wasn't from Earth. His DNA structure was completely different from homosapiens; at first he thought it could be a mutation but this had to be something utterly lethal. He was extraterrestrial but what species; that answer was something he'd have to push harder for.

They banked left and arrived at the opposite building to the warehouse. Batman activated the speakers in the suit and watched as John touched down gently on the roof.

"What are you?"

"That's a bit direct," smiled John. "I thought we would have discussed our strategy on how to save the boy first."

"If I'm going to work with you, I need to trust you, and with means I need to know who you are and what you are."

"Well I've heard you're the world's greatest Detective, what can you tell me?"

"You're not human," Batman told him. "You're not Kryptonian, like Superman, you're a telepath and you can fly though that me be a trick of telekinesis. And you can change forms because that is clearly not your real body; your eyes give it away."

"That was a good deduction," John replied, removing his trilby. "I can't tell much about you but I can tell you're not the original Bat; the name change was a big giveaway, the original Bat was too stubborn for a name change."

_He's good_, Batman smirked under his mask. "I'm not going to tell you if you're right or not, but I at least you know I'm human and I'm highly dangerous because of my high intelligence and physical ability. What about you?"

"I hail from the planet Mars," John told him, putting hat back on. "I was an intergalactic law enforcer and when my planet died, I came to another planet nearby to continue my job."

"Thank you," Batman said. "But we are not friends, I don't trust you but I will work with you on this occasion."

Batman turned to the warehouse, placing his leg onto the ledge, stretching out his muscles. "The gang have now positioned themselves inside the warehouse of the night as they wait for their money which will never come. I'm going to cut the power to the building and then we'll enter, take out the men and rescue the boy while they're all blind."

"I can see how that would work for you but that's not the way I work."

"And how do you work?" Batman asked sarcastically.

"We'll walk in there and take them."

"That's a bad idea," Batman told him. "The Bat Mantle carries fear and that is a weapon I will use to the fullest. If you don't like it you can sit on the side lines. We're going with my plan and that's final." He extended his wings from the back of his suit. "Silence from here on in, you head round the side entrance and enter when the lights go out."

Batman turned off the speaker system and jumped from the building, soaring silently across the night sky and down to the building.

John the Martian watched as a shiny object was thrown by the Batman at the power box at the back of the warehouse as he soared past.

_He's certainly not the Bat_, John smiled to himself. _But he's clearly just as stubborn_.

Charlie turned to the rest of his ten men. He was the leader, the head honcho and also the most scared. He didn't like doing anything that put his life in danger, he normally sent men off and watched it on the news but his employers insisted that he sit it out with his men; there couldn't be any cock ups.

"Can you guys stop messing around," he shouted at the men.

"What's wrong boss?" asked Jimmy, his second in command and best friend.

"We need to focus," he sighed, checking that his heavy hand gun was still next to him. "There can't be any funny business."

That's when the lights went down.

"Oh fuck," he muttered. He reached down and clutched his gun. It certainly wasn't the Police, the Light had promised that, so it had to the Batman. But surely he died in the battle of Metropolis.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

I am sorry but I have cut that one short, just so I could leave you with something as if you hadn't notice all I've done is upload to this story. As a writer I can only focus on one story at a time and I am not going back to working on web series ideas and a possible sketch series for my Youtube channel as I mainly work on my film. If you want I'll put the link on my Profile.

I will get back to this soon but for now, you'll have to guess what will happen in the warehouse. Stay tuned for Issue 27. :D


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